Going into the home stretch of college football bowl games, Diverse takes a look at the Academic Progress Rates (APR) among FBS teams. APR is a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of a school’s student-athletes for each academic term. A perfect score would be 1,000.
2015-2016 NCAA Bowl Team APRs
| Participant | APR | Bowl Game |
| Wisconsin | 998 | National Funding Holiday |
| Northwestern | 992 | Outback |
| Duke | 992 | New Era Pinstripe |
| Michigan | 990 | Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus |
| Stanford | 987 | Rose |
| Nebraska | 985 | Foster Farms |
| Utah State | 985 | Famous Idaho Potato |
| Clemson | 984 | Capital One Orange |
| Boise State | 981 | San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia |
| Air Force | 980 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces |
| Alabama | 978 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Notre Dame | 978 | BattleFrog Fiesta |
| Louisville | 977 | Franklin American Mortgage Music City |
| Indiana | 977 | New Era Pinstripe |
| Virginia Tech | 977 | Camping World Independence |
| Washington | 977 | Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas |
| Kansas State | 976 | AutoZone Liberty |
| UCLA | 975 | Foster Farms |
| Minnesota | 975 | Quick Lane |
| San Jose State | 975 | AutoNation Cure |
| Texas A&M | 974 | Franklin American Mortgage Music City |
| Navy | 974 | Military |
| Michigan State | 973 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Ohio State | 973 | BattleFrog Fiesta |
| Utah | 973 | Royal Purple Las Vegas |
| Middle Tennessee | 973 | Popeyes Bahamas |
| Mississippi State | 971 | Belk |
| Florida | 971 | Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus |
| Northern Illinois | 970 | San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia |
| Toledo | 970 | Marmot Boca Raton |
| South Florida | 970 | Miami Beach |
| Temple | 969 | Marmot Boca Raton |
| Auburn | 968 | Birmingham |
| Oregon | 967 | Valero Alamo |
| Miami | 967 | Hyundai Sun |
| Iowa | 966 | Rose |
| San Diego State | 964 | Hawaii |
| Oklahoma | 963 | Capital One Orange |
| Pittsburgh | 963 | Military |
| Cincinnati | 962 | Hawaii |
| Bowling Green | 961 | GoDaddy |
| Georgia | 961 | TaxSlayer |
| Arizona | 961 | Gildan New Mexico |
| North Carolina State | 960 | Belk |
| Baylor | 960 | Russell Athletic |
| UConn | 960 | St. Petersburg |
| Appalachian State | 960 | Raycom Media Camellia |
| Marshall | 959 | St. Petersburg |
| Penn State | 956 | TaxSlayer |
| Ohio | 955 | Raycom Media Camellia |
| Western Michigan | 955 | Popeyes Bahamas |
| Florida State | 955 | Chick-fil-A Peach |
| BYU | 952 | Royal Purple Las Vegas |
| Memphis | 951 | Birmingham |
| Washington State | 951 | Hyundai Sun |
| Arkansas State | 951 | R+L Carriers New Orleans |
| Arizona State | 949 | Motel 6 Cactus |
| Central Michigan | 949 | Quick Lane |
| Southern Miss | 949 | Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas |
| USC | 948 | National Funding Holiday |
| Ole Miss | 947 | Allstate Sugar |
| LSU | 947 | AdvoCare V100 Texas |
| Western Kentucky | 947 | Miami Beach |
| Akron | 947 | Famous Idaho Potato |
| Tennessee | 945 | Outback |
| New Mexico | 945 | Gildan New Mexico |
| Colorado State | 944 | NOVA Home Loans Arizona |
| Georgia Southern | 943 | GoDaddy |
| Nevada | 943 | NOVA Home Loans Arizona |
| West Virginia | 942 | Motel 6 Cactus |
| California | 941 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces |
| Tulsa | 941 | Camping World Independence |
| Louisiana Tech | 941 | R+L Carriers New Orleans |
| Houston | 941 | Chick-fil-A Peach |
| Georgia State | 940 | AutoNation Cure |
| Arkansas | 938 | AutoZone Liberty |
| North Carolina | 937 | Russell Athletic |
| TCU | 936 | Valero Alamo |
| Texas Tech | 936 | AdvoCare V100 Texas |
| Oklahoma State | 934 | Allstate Sugar |
Source: The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport report: “Keeping Score When It Counts: Assessing the Academic Records of the 2015-2016 Bowl-bound College Football Teams”
*Ranked in descending order
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