PEORIA, Ill. -- For the second year in a row, the Bradley University Men’s Golf, Soccer, Women’s Tennis and Volleyball teams have received Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA in honor of their Academic Progress Rate scores.  The NCAA on Thursday released its list of 712 teams representing 192 Division I institutions that have posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. 

Those 712 programs make up 11.4 percent of the 6,272 Division I teams competing nationwide during the 2007-08 academic year.  High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 965 to a perfect 1,000 over the data collection period.

“Congratulations to these teams and their student-athletes for success in the classroom,” NCAA President Myles Brand said.  “They are setting a great example for their peers and future student-athletes, as well.”

Bradley was second in the Missouri Valley Conference with its four team awards, trailing only Creighton’s five awards.  The two schools were the only Valley institutions to be represented by both genders and are home to the only men’s sports recognized in the league.

“Student-athletes at Bradley University understand the proper balance between athletics and academics,” said Bradley President Joanne Glasser. “The student-athletes on these four teams continue a long history at Bradley of athletic and academic excellence. Bradley is very proud of their accomplishments on the playing field and in the classroom.”

“We remain extremely proud, not only of these four programs, but of the continued overall successes of all our teams,” said Bradley Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh.  “These significant combined results remain a by-product of the diligent efforts of the fine young men and women in our program, as well as the daily contributions by our coaches, academic advising units and Bradley University’s quality faculty. Regardless of the potential for professional athletic opportunities, graduation remains our ultimate goal, and we derive substantial satisfaction in knowing that our student-athletes are producing so well in the classroom.”

One of 21 men’s soccer programs nationwide to receive the NCAA Public Recoginition Award, Bradley was one of just seven that also qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament, joining the likes of Brown, Colgate, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard and Northwestern, but their NCAA Elite Eight run made the Braves the only one of those programs to advance beyond the second round.  For the second consecutive year, Bradley was the only men’s soccer representative for the NCAA Public Recognition Award from the Missouri Valley Conference and the Midwest Region.

Of the other three Bradley teams to receive the NCAA Public Recognition Award, the Braves are one of 32 men’s golf programs to be honored, while women’s tennis is one of 46 and volleyball one of 41.

The public recognition from the NCAA for the Men’s Golf, Soccer, Women’s Tennis and Volleyball programs is the latest good news for the academic success of Bradley’s student-athletes.  In the most-recent release of four-class graduation rates from the NCAA, Bradley continued to lead The Valley at 77 percent, while the entire athletic department boasts a combined 3.15 cumulative grade point average through the 2007 Fall semester.  Individually, the Braves boast 24 Academic All-Americans and national Scholar-Athletes since 1995, while seniors Todd Reedy (soccer) and Eitan Barbalat (baseball) have both been candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in their respective sports this year.