The ACC shines in both the classroom and on the field, as per the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR). Not much is discussed about this because it’s more of a governance standard than a statistic fans would want to follow. A higher APR means that, generally, a school is high-achieving in academics. As per the NCAA, the APR is calculated like this:

Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible.A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate.In addition to a team’s current-year APR, its rolling four-year APR is also used to determine accountability.

Getting upset at these numbers as a fan is like getting upset that taxes exist. What are you going to do about it? What can you do about it? Probably not much. But without further ado, here are the most recent APR scores for each ACC university, ranked from lowest to highest.

17th: Syracuse Orange – 958

This one genuinely surprised me. I always thought of Syracuse as an academics-first university, and with the lowest score out of any ACC team, it’s a shock, to say the least. 952 is comparable to the Big Ten’s Maryland Terrapins or Oregon Ducks. Despite the low score, the Orange went 10-3 last season, including a victory over Washington State in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl.

SMU football’s rocky history with the NCAA appears to mirror their APR, placing them near the bottom with an APR that has been mostly stagnant since 2004. A peak in 2020 at 977 is the highest this team has ever achieved. SMU did go 11-3 and was a participant in both the ACC Championship and the College Football Playoff.

For a school that brands itself as an institute of technology and with an acceptance rate of 16%, I would have presumed Tech to be one of the higher-end academic schools. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Tech has declined every year in APR since 2015, except in 2020, where they rose one point. The Yellow Jackets finished 7-6, good for 6th in the ACC.

With a peak APR of 979 in 2017, Cal has struggled to find itself in terms of APR. They have consistently hovered in the 970-979 range since 2015. In their first year in the ACC, they went 6-7 with a loss to UNLV in the Art of Sport LA Bowl.

Not sure what I expected here. I have no positive or negative opinion of Pitt academically or athletically, but in terms of APR, they dropped significantly from 983 last season to 974 in 2024. Prior to that season, they were in the 980s every year since 2016. The Panthers went 7-6 this season, losing to Toledo in the Gameabove Sports Bowl.

12th: Virginia Tech Hokies – 976

Another tech school scoring low? I don’t get it. My beliefs about tech schools being academically superior to state schools are failing me. Virginia Tech went 6-7 after losing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

11th: Virginia Cavaliers – 983

Both schools from the Old Dominion state are near the bottom of the list. What are the odds they’re right next to each other in terms of APR? Incredible stuff. Surely we won’t see something like this happen again with these rankings. Virginia went 5-7 this season, unfortunately.

Again, like Pittsburgh, not sure what I expected here with Louisville. In 2009, their APR fell to 908 and they were sanctioned with a loss of 3 scholarships by the NCAA. After that, they appear to have taken academics more seriously and have achieved scores above 980 since 2014. The Cardinals went 9-4 this season, winning over Washington in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

9th: Stanford Cardinal – 985

Hey, what do you know? Two Cardinal-related teams are back-to-back. What are the odds? Funny how numbers work, I guess. Even though Stanford is not a (state) tech school, I always believed that, like Syracuse, they were academics-first. Even more so than the Orange. While they are ahead of them, I largely expected them to be near the top of the conference. I guess not this year. Stanford went 3-9 in their first season in the ACC.

8th (tie): Miami Hurricanes – 986

One thing Seminoles fans can proudly proclaim over Miami in the wake of their 36-14 loss this year? Florida State has a better APR. I know, a game-changing argument here. Use it loud, and use it proud. Miami went 10-3 this season, barely missing out on the College Football Playoff after a loss to Syracuse. They would also go on to lose in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando to Iowa State.

This is about where I expected Boston College to be. They have had a 980+ APR since 2016, which would have been a streak dating back to 2011 if a 978 season in 2015-16 didn’t happen. The Eagles went 7-6 this season, placing them in the middle of the pack in terms of conference record.

6th (tie): NC State Wolfpack – 987

NC State’s APR has risen every year since 2018, and they have gone up 25 points in just five years. The 2023 season was the program’s highest ever APR, with a score of 987. The program went 6-7 this season, though.

What is it with schools from the same state being next to each other on these rankings? In any case, I know Duke as an academic school, and they absolutely uphold that reputation, tying for sixth in terms of APR. They had a streak of 990+ years from 2012 to 2018, but it appears they have settled into the upper 980s category since. The Blue Devils went 9-4 this season, losing to Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Seventeenth in the ACC in terms of record, but 4th in terms of APR, baby! The Seminoles are better than conference rival Miami. Oh, and by the way, the Florida Gators’ APR is 982. So they are better than both of our in-state rivals, this is an absolute win! This number is not surprising given the Mike Norvell hire, it is likely that, in addition to the program’s mostly forgettable tenure under Jimbo Fisher, he wanted to fix a graduation success rate that was among the worst in college football. It is clear he has done just that.

3rd (tie): Wake Forest Demon Deacons – 995

I said “Wake Forest isn’t good at anything” before? Well, I lied. They’re good at academics, tied for third in the conference with Clemson. My witty observation for this school is as follows: they went 4-8, 3rd worst in the ACC, but are 3rd best in terms of academics. Is it safe to call them an academic school and not a football school?

A football AND an academic school? Impressive stuff, Tigers. Under Dabo Swinney, the program climbed all the way up to a nearly perfect 999 APR in 2020, before settling at 995 for three years straight. Before 2020, they had consistently raised their APR year after year. As Florida State is a rival of Clemson, I will say, they are a model university. Good work, Dabo.

1st: North Carolina Tar Heels – 996

Okay, so… basketball school, maybe a football school, and an academic school? Just four points below a perfect score, the Tar Heels are atop the ACC in terms of academia. Perhaps having Bill Belichick as their head coach will help them achieve both a perfect APR score for 2025 but also a perfect season? Who’s to say? Only time will tell. I expect them to stay at the top spot in any case, though.

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