MU not going to lose scholarships in APR

Message boards have been buzzing over the NCAA Academic Progress Report data, which show that sanctions (read: scholarship losses) are being assessed for the first time under the program introduced several years ago.

Previously, Cracked Sidewalks analyzed MU's impact under the APR requirements in 2006 and 2005.

When they announced the program, the NCAA intended to use 4 years worth of data when analyzing teams. With the addition of the 2006-07 season to the APR data, the NCAA now has four years of data on schools.

The way the NCAA calculates the APR, teams get credit each semester for players that remain academically eligible and return for the following semester.

Each player theoretically has 4 points--one for staying academically eligible for the 1st semester--one for returning for the 2nd semester--one for staying academically eligible for the 2nd semester--one for returning for the next semester

Assuming the worst case--Blackledge neither passes spring 07, nor returns in the fall, and James doesn't return in the fall, MU's points this year look something like this:

Note that we don't know if Trend actually failed to stay academically eligible or is going to transfer--this is just the worst case conjecture for planning purposes.

Dominic James: 3 of 4 -- possible NBA
Lawrence Blackledge: 2 of 4 -- possible transfer/academic casualty
Jerel McNeal: 4 of 4
Wes Matthews: 4 of 4
Dan Fitzgerald: 4 of 4
Ousmane Barro: 4 of 4
Jamil Lott: 4 of 4
Mike Kinsella 4 of 4
Dwight Burke: 4 of 4
David Cubillan: 4 of 4
Maurice Acker: 4 of 4
Lazar Haward: 4 of 4
Total: 45 of 48

For 05-06:
Steve Novak: 4 of 4
Dominic James: 4 of 4
Jerel McNeal: 4 of 4
Wes Matthews: 4 of 4
Joe Chapman: 4 of 4
Ryan Amoroso: 3 of 4 - transfer
Dan Fitzgerald: 4 of 4
Ousmane Barro: 4 of 4
Jamil Lott: 4 of 4
Mike Kinsella 4 of 4
Chris Grimm: 4 of 4
Dwight Burke: 4 of 4
Matt Mortenten: 3 of 4 -- became ineligible
Team Total: 50 of 52.

04-05
Travis Diener: 4 of 4
Steve Novak: 4 of 4
Dameon Mason: 3 of 4 -- transfer
Joe Chapman: 4 of 4
Ryan Amoroso: 4 of 4
Todd Townsend: 4 of 4
Marcus Jackson: 4 of 4
Ousmane Barro: 4 of 4
Niv Berkowitz: 0 of 2 -- Dropped out middle of 2nd semester
Mike Kinsella: 4 of 4
Chris Grimm: 4 of 4
Total of 39 of 42.

For the 03-04 season:
Karon Bradley: 3 of 4 -- transfer
Carlton Christian: 3 of 4 -- transfer
Brandon Bell: 1 of 2 -- transfer
James Matthews: 1 of 2 -- transfer after 1st semester
Scott Merritt: 4 of 4
Steve Novak: 4 of 4
Terry Sanders: 4 of 4
Joe Champan: 4 of 4
Travis Diener: 4 of 4
Dameon Mason: 4 of 4
Chris Grimm: 4 of 4
Marcus Jackson: 4 of 4
Todd Townsend: 4 of 4
Team Total: 43 of 48.

The four year total is 177 of 190 possible points, for a total of 93.2%. The NCAA reports this number as an APR of 932.This number will be reported in the spring of 2008, to determine scholarships for the 2008-09 season.

The good news is that MU's poorest APR year will be removed from the analysis, and replaced with data from the 2007-08 season. Recall that in 2002-03, MU saw Bell, Christan, Bradley and James Matthews leave the program.