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ULM Basketball honors APR taskforce

Published March 06, 2015

For years, the Men’s Basketball team at the University of Louisiana at Monroe was marred by poor Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. When Keith Richard was named the Head Coach of Men’s Basketball in April 2010,he made improving the team’s APR a top priority. Prior to Richard’s arrival, the team earned a disappointing APR rate of 712. Through the efforts of Richard and an academic taskforce, the team earned its first-ever perfect APR score of 1,000 in 2014.

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Bruno

“These devastatingly-low academic results from our basketball program required fast and decisive action,” said ULM President, Dr. Nick J. Bruno. “I was assured by Coach Keith Richard that we had his complete commitment to the team’s academic success.”

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Richard

The team was placed into receivership—a situation which requires that all academic decisions, including admission of new student-athletes, to be delegated to an APR taskforce. This group was charged with developing policies to address the academic restoration of men’s basketball, which included the writing of a progress plan to establish practice time limits, study hall requirements, and pre-screening of recruits.

The ULM taskforce, which was honored during the men’s basketball game on March 5, includes Committee Chair, Brett Bennett, associate professor and director of the radiologic technology program; Dr. Michelle McEacharn, professor and director of the School of Accounting, Financial, and Information Systems; Karen Crowley, associate university registrar; Barbara Michaelides, director of retention; Dr. Brian Wickstrom, athletic director; and ex-officio member, Meghan Mazza, assistant athletic director for compliance.

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Bennett
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McEacharn
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Crowley
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Michaelides
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Wickstrom
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Mazza

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Few can appreciate the number of hours and level of commitment given to ensuring the academic progress and excellence of our men’s basketball program,” said Bruno. “Coach Richard is to be commended for his commitment to his student-athletes’ success. The amazing turnaround we have witnessed in men’s basketball has truly been a team effort, with many individuals contributing to this new-found academic achievement.”

Over the last two years, the men’s basketball team has earned consecutive Team Academic Excellence Awards from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and consecutive Sun Belt Conference Academic Awards after posting the top team grade point average (GPA).


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