The NCAA has decided to upgrade the academic progress rate, the APR, up to 930 for Division-1 schools of a four-year time period.  Essentially making sure at least 50% of the schools student-athletes graduate come graduation time.

Also with this upgrade change, comes the higher expectations and the cut-line of teams that make the football bowl games and March Madness in basketball that falls below the 930-mark.

The new cut-line level is to make sure schools are meeting academic standards set in front of them.  This will make sure that coaches and athletic departments push to make sure their student-athletes are succeeding on the classroom as well as the field.

Prior to this change, schools below 925 faced penalties like the loss of scholarships.  The only time a team would face a postseason ban was if their APR fell below 900.  However schools can request a waiver to postpone the ban if the school shows a change or the president shows active involvment with the academic improvement with said team.

Under this new 930-rule, schools such as USC (924), Syracuse (912), and Ohio State (929); would be on the sidelines during postseason play despite how good the team played that year.

More or less, the NCAA is putting education first over athletics regardless how a team’s plays during the season.