NCAA awards $3.1 million in grants to 9 schools

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The NCAA has awarded more than $3.1 million in grants to nine Division I schools to support academic programs that help student-athletes earn their degrees.

The recipients of the Accelerating Academic Success Program Comprehensive Grants (multiyear) include Arkansas-Pine Bluff ($900,000), Morgan State (887,700) and Southern University ($900,000).

Recipients of Accelerating Academic Success Program Initiatives Grants (single year) include Alabama State ($63,600), Austin Peay State ($100,000), Coppin State ($85,000), Idaho State ($57,000), Norfolk State ($100,000) and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ($87,460).

The grants help schools improve the academic success of their student-athletes. The goal is to support the schools’ efforts to meet the requirements of the Division I Academic Performance Program, which was developed to ensure schools provide an environment that supports education while enhancing the ability of student-athletes to earn a degree.

“The impact of the Accelerating Academic Success Program has exceeded expectations and the reach has expanded far beyond the Academic Progress Rate,” said Bernard Franklin, NCAA executive vice president of education and community engagement and chief inclusion officer. “The program’s success is an illustration of the transformation that can take place when adequate resources are combined with creative and strategic planning.”

Schools eligible to apply for the program are non-Football Bowl Subdivision Division I schools in the bottom 10 percent of resources as determined by per capita institutional expenditures, athletics department funding and Pell Grant aid.

The comprehensive grants will be distributed over a three-year period and used to fund increased academic support services staffing and space; technology upgrades (software and hardware); career planning; professional development; and increased availability of summer financial aid for student-athletes.

Schools can request a maximum of $300,000 per year for three years. The participating schools are required to match grant dollars each year of the program, with direct funds and/or in-kind contributions. The school must commit a 25 percent match in the first year, 50 percent in year two and 75 percent in year three. Schools must match 20 percent of single-year grants.

“Through my research, I have been able to see the positive impact AASP has had on our previous cohorts — quantitatively and qualitatively,” said Tiese Roxbury, NCAA assistant director of research, assessment and academic success. “Based on the excellence of the proposed plans, leadership and commitment from these institutions, I fully expect to see the same gains from this new cohort.”

The announced awards mark the fifth round of Accelerating Academic Success Program funding distributed by the NCAA.

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