Southern University handles scholarship loss

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Southern football coach Stump Mitchell on Monday confirmed the loss of nine full scholarships spread among 19 players - the result, he said, of NCAA penalties brought forth because of SU’s substandard score in the Academic Progress Rate. Mitchell, however, said the team had yet to lose any players because of the predicament.

The blow was announced on the eve of this year’s Southwestern Athletic Conference media day and less than two weeks before his team starts practice, Aug. 4. Southern was susceptible to harsh penalties because its football team had a history of substandard APR scores.

The APR is a rolling four-year system that measures classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team. Teams scoring below 925 can face penalties, and teams scoring below 900 are subject to “severe” penalties.

According to data released...

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