NCAA recognizes MSU basketball, baseball academics

As a part of its academic reform program, the NCAA recognized the MSU men’s basketball and baseball teams for their top academic performance this year.

The 2008-09 teams, coached by Tom Izzo (men’s basketball) and first-year coach Jake Boss Jr. (baseball), had an Academic Progress Report, or APR score in the top 10 percent of their respective sports.

According to an NCAA release, the APR score is based on real-time account of the team’s academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. It includes eligibility, retention and graduation.

Sophomores Tom Herzog and Mike Kebler, junior Isaiah Dahlman and fifth-year senior Idong Ibok received Academic All-Big Ten honors for this season’s men’s basketball campaign. Ibok earned an undergraduate degree in telecommunication, information studies and media and is pursuing his master’s in advertising.

Since 2000, 29 members of the MSU men’s basketball team have received their bachelor’s degrees and 58 of 66 players who have completed their eligibility since 1990 have earned their degree, a percent of 87.9.

Three of this year’s men’s basketball Final Four competitors — MSU, Villanova and national champion North Carolina — were honored in their respective sports.

“The vast majority of sports teams are performing very well academically and exceeding the 925 threshold for their APR scores,” said NCAA President Myles Brand of the 1,000-point APR scale in a release. “Nearly 800 of these teams are worthy of special attention, and I commend them for their excellence in academics and athletics.”

There are approximately 6,484 Division 1 teams and 767 of them — 11.9 percent — were recognized with Public Recognition Awards. Of 331 Division 1 colleges, 205 had at least one team placed on the list. Yale had the most teams recognized (28) and the Ivy Group had the most as a conference (144).

The entire number of teams receiving Public Recognition Awards listed by institution can be found here.