Ohio State one of two football programs with perfect multi-year APR

TL;DR

Ohio State football program achieved a perfect multi-year APR score for the third consecutive year, making it one of only two programs to do so alongside Alabama. This score reflects the academic success of student-athletes over multiple academic years.

Key points

Ohio State football logged a perfect multi-year APR score.
This is the third consecutive year for this achievement.
Alabama is the only other program with a perfect multi-year APR.
APR tracks academic progress of student-athletes.
The score reflects academic performance over multiple years.

Ohio StateAlabama

The Ohio State football program does a lot of winning on the field, but probably doesn't get enough credit for what it does in the classroom and off of it. Case in point, for the third consecutive year, the Buckeye program just logged a perfect APR score, one of just two programs to complete the accomplishment.

So what exactly is APR? According to a release from the University, the APR "provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for academic eligibility, retention, and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. The most recent APR scores are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 academic years.

Amazingly enough, the other program to join Ohio State on a perfect multi-year APR isn't an Ivy League school, it's not Northwestern, Duke, or Stanford, but Alabama.

"Despite increasing volatility in the age of NIL and nearly unlimited transfer in college athletics, Ohio State shows remarkably high and consistent academic achievement across its sports — and continues to strive for improvement," said Dr. John Davidson, Ohio State Faculty Athletics Representative ... "This is a testament to the concern for academics that is built into the athletics culture here. OSU’s student-athletes, coaches, and academic support staff have an unparalleled dedication to success in the classroom."

It wasn't just football, though; the Ohio State athletic department as a whole showed an overall APR rate of 991, astonishing considering the environment of college athletics today. To have a perfect, multi-year rate in football, where most of the change and volatility has taken place, speaks volumes.

"The results of the Buckeye football program will garner the most attention, and rightly so — to attain perfect multiyear rates in three consecutive years sets a standard that few programs across the country could even conceive of meeting,” Davidson continued. “But beyond that, we should be exceptionally proud that 29 percent of Ohio State’s sports teams show perfect multiyear scores in this cycle."

Q&A

What does a perfect multi-year APR score mean for Ohio State football?

A perfect multi-year APR score indicates that Ohio State football has consistently maintained high academic standards, tracking student-athlete eligibility, retention, and graduation rates.

Which other football program achieved a perfect multi-year APR alongside Ohio State?

Alabama is the only other football program to achieve a perfect multi-year APR score along with Ohio State.

How is the APR score calculated for college football programs?

The APR score is calculated by averaging scores from multiple academic years, specifically considering factors like academic eligibility, retention, and graduation of student-athletes on scholarship.