INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Three Bradley University intercollegiate athletic teams were recognized by the NCAA Thursday for posting a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) among the top 10 percent in the country for their respective sports.

The Bradley women's cross country, women's golf and women's tennis teams all were recognized by the NCAA among the 954 teams from across the country, including 23 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. 

"The academic performance of our student-athletes continues to be a great source of pride for the Bradley University community," said Bradley Director of Athletics Dr. Michael Cross.  "Our student-athletes have the support of our coaches, academic support staff and the University's distinctive faculty.  Adding this support to the efforts of our committed student-athletes makes this type of recognition possible."

The Bradley women's tennis team has earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award each of the seven years of the program, the only team sport in The Valley to make that claim.  The women's cross country and women's golf teams both have earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award in each of the last three years.

Bradley tied for third in The Valley with three team awards, though the percentage of teams recognized by the NCAA tied for second with Evansville (3 of 14 teams) and behind Creighton (4 of 14).  The NCAA will release the APR scores, as well as access to postseason play and penalties for low-performing teams, June 20.

Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR.  The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.  The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.

In addition to Thursday's NCAA Public Recognition Award announcement, Bradley recently announced that more than 80 percent of its student-athletes posted a 3.0 semester grade point average in at least one of the two semesters during the 2011-12 academic year.  Bradley's 200 student-athletes produced a department record 3.25 semester grade point average during the 2012 spring semester and 165 of the 200 (82.5 percent) student-athletes earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll during at least one of the two grading periods.