BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield Athletics received great news on Wednesday when the NCAA released initial information from its annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) report. After another banner year in academics, the Roadrunners joined the rest of the NCAA in enjoying an overall upward trend in classroom success.

Last May, the CSUB volleyball and beach volleyball teams both earned a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA for finishing in the top-10 percent of APR scores for their respective sports. Accomplishing the feat again, the two volleyball teams have been joined in 2017-18 by the `Runner wrestling program, giving CSUB three teams earning the honor for the first time.

"CSU Bakersfield continues to be known nationally for the focus we put on Academic Excellence for our student-athletes," said Kenneth "Ziggy" Siegfried, CSUB's Athletics Director. "We have also seen that as programs have success academically, they often find that same success in competition. The volleyball and wrestling programs are great examples of just that with volleyball winning the WAC Tournament Championship this year and wrestling sending five student-athletes to the NCAA Nationals."

Siegfried went on to applaud the department as a whole for the academic achievements: "These successes have come due to a collective effort from our campus, athletics staff, student-athletes, and the support of donors and the NCAA AASP program. I would like to personally thank all those involved in helping our student-athletes to be successful in the classroom and in life."

CSUB continues to thrive thanks to the benefits of the Accelerated Academic Success Program grant, which was awarded in the summer of 2014. As a result, Bakersfield has been able to hire additional academic support staff, advisors, and tutors for student-athletes and opened the new Kegley Center for Student Success.

The Kegley Center, which was relocated from a nearby smaller space, now includes over 7,000 square-feet of study and tutoring areas, computer labs, and academic support resources for CSUB student-athletes. The facility was funded by both the grant and the philanthropy of CSUB professor of philosophy and former faculty athletics representative Dr. Jacquelyn Kegley.

Every Division I sports team across the nation calculates its Academic Progress Rate each academic year, like a report card. Scholarship student-athletes each semester earn one point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. The full details of the NCAA's annual APR report are expected to be released next Wednesday.

Information from a press release by NCAA.com was used in this report.