UConn regains postseason eligibility after improving academic performance
The University of Connecticut men's basketball program has qualified to be academically eligible for the 2014 NCAA tournament.
UConn's Huskies had been barred from this year's tournament because they had run afoul of the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate.
The program's APR, which is a measure of student-athletes' academic progress, is based upon a scale up to 1,000 points. The NCAA adopted a new standard in 2011 that requires all teams to have a 900 average over four years or 930 over two years to qualify for postseason competition.
UConn's APR for 2010-11 was 978 -- the year it won its third NCAA championship -- and for 2011-12 was 947, giving it a two-year average score of 962.5. That meets the NCAA requirement. However, UConn's four-year APR is 897, below the 900 point threshold.
The overall four-year score last year was 889, and its two-year average was 902.
Still, the recent gains have shown marked improvement. UConn was forced to miss this year's tournament as a result of the low scores, even though it compiled a 20-10 record which likely would have gained it playoff selection.
UConn has made several changes to improve its overall scores, including sanctioning players who miss three or more classes in an academic year, as well as continual monitoring of players whose grade-point average was 2.3 or lower. Players also are required to attend summer school, if needed, and must adhere to a path that ends in graduation - even if they leave their school early to play in the NBA or to pursue other opportunities.
