How would the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament look if success in the classroom mattered more than talent on the court? Here's the annual Academic Performance Tournament.
As the world gears up for the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I men’s basketball tournament and relationships are shattered in bloody bracket battles, we at Inside Higher Ed are upholding a now heavily imitated annual tradition.
Every March since 2006, we have introduced our annual Academic Performance Tournament to judge who would win the NCAA tournaments -- men’s and women’s alike -- if classroom, and not on-court, performance was the ruling metric. Check out the men's version here.
It works like this: we look at the NCAA’s (admittedly flawed) measure of a team’s academic prowess called the academic progress rate -- we’re using the 2016-17 figures, though it’s a multiyear metric.
In the event of a tie between two teams, we turn to the NCAA graduation success rate, the association's own determination of the portion of a team's athletes who graduate within six years. The graduation success rates excludes athletes who leave an institution in good academic standing and credits those who transfer in and graduate. Generally, the NCAA’s rate is higher than the federal government’s, but we use that metric as a last-ditch resort in the case of another tie of the previous two metrics.
And now, drum roll, the winner … is the same as last year’s!
Click here to take a look (or check out our bracket below) and follow me on Twitter @jbeowulf for other athletics and student affairs news.
Read more by
Inside Higher Ed Careers
Hiring? Post A Job Today!
Browse Faculty Jobs
Browse Administrative Jobs
Browse Executive Administration Jobs
We have retired comments and introduced Letters to the Editor. Share your thoughts »
You may also be interested in...
Today’s News from Inside Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed’s Quick Takes
Popular Right Now
Mount Holyoke abruptly announces closure of childcare center
Long-term online learning in pandemic may impact students' well-being
41% of Recent Grads Work in Jobs Not Requiring a Degree
How professors can and should combat linguistic prejudice in their classes (opinion)
What I Wish I'd Known About Tenure
Pandemic brings the end of deadlines in admissions
Higher Education Events Calendar & People
Lawrence raised money to meet students' full need but will need more to do so
New Cal Grant bill would expand eligibility, bringing major changes to state financial aid program
Expand commentsHide comments