Washington State's APR results bring good news

APR results are in and the news for Washington State is good across the board. Four programs, including men's basketball, scored a perfect 1000 in the last year measured. As a reminder, the APR is a rolling four-year average that takes into account players leaving the institution, penalizing heavier for those that leave while ineligibile.

The big news came from the football program, which posted a score of 953 this past year. While the rolling average is still under the NCAA threshold of 925 (it's at 918), the Cougs will not be docked any scholarships and are still following the plan submitted to the NCAA by Coach Paul Wulff. The APR score is still low as a result of the dreadful 2006-2007 season which saw numerous players leave while ineligible, resulting in an APR score of 874. Next year, if the Cougs post a score above 950, they will be above the threshold and clear of any APR sanctions for the time being.

The bad news for basketball is that they will take an APR hit from the departures in the program that happened in the last few months. After posting a perfect 1000, their four year rolling average is in good shape, at 957, leaving some wiggle room down the line. Players transferring do affect the APR, but the hit isn't as terrible as you may think. What will hurt is the departure of James Watson, who left while ineligible. Luckily, the work done by past teams should more than make up for the presumably lower than ideal score they may see next year.

Across the board, WSU came out clean with today's reports. All sports outside of football are above the threshold. Women's basketball is hovering close to the cutoff line, with an APR of 933, but it appears the rest are good to go. The Cougs continue to work hard in the classroom and their APR results are encouraging news about the state of the athletic department.