The Kentucky Wildcats basketball program is one of the best in the country, boasting multiple national championships and a history littered with great teams and great players. Recently, however, things haven’t gone quite as fans would have liked, leading to a coaching change.
Under Mark Pope, the Wildcats reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in several seasons, and the future looks bright for the basketball team. However, in college, there’s an academic side of things as well.
Balancing success on the court with success in the classroom can be tricky. The NCAA actually measures the academics for schools and measures it and gives it a score they call the academic progress rate. They track it as a rolling score over a four-year period and give it a score.
The NCAA explained the score, saying each player receiving athletically related financial aid gets a point for staying in school and a point for being academically eligible. Then, the total is divided by the possible total and multiplied by 1,000.
So how did Kentucky do? Here’s the rankings from worst to first in academic progress rate of all the basketball programs of the SEC.
16. LSU Tigers
APR Score: 938
Previous year: 939
The Tigers are at the bottom of these rankings, and by a fairly large margin. They’ve been at the bottom of this list for a number of consecutive seasons now, and it will probably take a few years for them to bring this average up.
15. South Carolina Gamecocks
APR Score: 953
Previous year: 956
It’s a bit of a drop this season for the Gamecocks. They struggled on the court as well this past season, so it’s a bit disappointing to be down in both areas.
APR Score: 960
Previous year: 955
The Sooners were solid this season, making the NCAA Tournament in their first season in the SEC. They also climbed five points in their APR. They’d like to keep rising in both areas in the coming year.
APR Score: 960
Previous year: 972
It was quite the drop in score for the Bulldogs, who fell 12 points. They have found some success on the court, but would like to be better in both areas moving forward.
APR Score: 969
Previous year: 947
The Bulldogs made a huge leap and has a solid year as a team as well. They’re generally not a basketball school, but are looking to change that perception.
APR Score: 970
Previous year: 966
The Missouri basketball team surprised most with their success last year. A solid academic rating to go with their sporting success has to be nice for the university.
10. Arkansas Razorbacks
APR Score: 970
Previous year: 978
The Razorbacks had a terrific first season under John Calipari, but did fall a bit in APR. Fans are expecting them to have even more success in the NCAA Tournament going forward.
APR Score: 971
Previous year: 978
While they struggled with consistency this season, the Longhorns still made it to March Madness, and are still solid in the academic scores as well, despite a small drop from last year.
8. Florida Gators
APR Score: 971
Previous year: 984
The Gators are in the top half of the league in APR and just won the national championship, so they’re doing something right. They did suffer a bit of a drop in APR.
7. Texas A&M Aggies
APR Score: 978
Previous year: 974
It was a solid season for the Aggies on the court, and they’ve been pretty good in recent season, but need to take the next step. They are also scoring well on the academic side.
6. Kentucky Wildcats
APR Score: 983
Previous year: 977
The Wildcats had their most successful postseason appearance in several years this year, and made a jump in APR as well. The future looks good in both areas under Mark Pope.
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
APR Score: 988
Previous year: 994
It was a disappointing finish for the Tide, but they have become one of the top basketball teams in the country on a regular basis. They’re also scoring very well in APR, even though they dipped slightly.
4. Vanderbilt Commodores
APR Score: 989
Previous year: 979
The Commodores made a nice leap in the academic area, and got some big wins on the court. New coach Mark Byington has things looking up for the program.
3. Ole Miss Rebels
APR Score: 994
Previous year: 983
The Rebels improved both on the court and in the classroom. Travis Perry’s new home has found a nice balance between the two areas right now.
2. Tennessee Volunteers
APR Score: 1000
Previous year: 1000
For the fourth year in a row, Tennessee scored 1000 in APR. They were also a very good basketball team, though they came up short of the Final Four.
1. Auburn Tigers
APR Score: 1000
Previous year: 994
The Tigers were the regular season champions of the SEC and lead the conference in academic progress rate as well. Bruce Pearl is doing a fantastic job with the program.