Wofford beats Furman in APR grade battle

Add another layer of intrigue to the storied Wofford-Furman rivalry.

Forget, for the moment, what the two teams have done on the field; Tuesday’s news concerned what has taken place off it.

According to the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate report, the Wofford football team duplicated its victory against the dreaded Paladins using pencils and paper in place of helmets and pads.

Wofford’s multi-year average of 984 on a scale of 1,000 was one point better than Furman. Both figures were well above the NCAA average of 934 and the sanction line, 925.

Clark, however, did point out the Paladins outpointed Wofford 982-981 a year ago.

“We got them by a point last year and they returned the favor,” Furman athletics director Gary Clark said. “We look forward to getting them back next year.”

Wofford athletics director Richard Johnson was plucky in victory.

“Gary Clark has always been envious of me, even back when we were growing up in the Chicago area,” Johnson said tongue-in-cheek. “Actually, we didn’t know each other, but we were just 10 miles apart and I was always a better basketball player.”

Four programs at other state colleges were not so lucky. The Coastal Carolina men’s outdoor track team, the College of Charleston’s baseball and men’s basketball teams and Winthrop’s cross country men’s team each lost partial or whole scholarships based on substandard APR figures.

Overall, Wofford might have won the battle, but Furman took the war. Six Paladin programs earned public recognition from the NCAA for placing in the top 10 percent in APR — football, men’s golf, women’s basketball, women’s indoor track and both outdoor track teams.

Wofford, meanwhile, earned recognition for football and men’s tennis.

“Beating Gary by one point in APR and on the football field is a good year for me,” Johnson said. “It’s a healthy rivalry.”

Part of the reason for each school’s high marks are their high academic entrance and progress standards. Another reason — for the football teams — is stability. Mike Ayers has been at Wofford for 20 years while Bobby Lamb is a Furman graduate and enters his seventh season as the team’s coach.

“I think they’ve been real good at finding that niche player,” Johnson said.

The College of Charleston baseball team will lose .92 of a scholarship while the men’s basketball team loses one full scholarship. The baseball team’s APR figure was 899 while the basketball team was 894.

“These punishments are for past, not current, failures,” College of Charleston athletics director Joe Hull said in a statement. “We have developed an improvement plan and the academic performance of these teams is improving.”

Coach Bobby Cremins said he was made aware of the possible scholarship deduction prior to accepting the job in July 2006.

“I was notified of this problem when I became head coach,” he said. “I fully realized that this penalty may be coming our way. We’ll do everything we can to help each team member be a successful student in the future.”

So far, so good. Both seniors from this year’s basketball team will graduate this month and one of this year’s juniors is on track to graduate in December.

The South Carolina State men’s basketball team had a multi-year APR of 889 but will not be penalized because it has shown marked improvement. The team’s yearly total has improved from 813 in 2004-05 to 908 in 2005-06 to 980 in 2006-07.

“We are pleased that the academic improvement plan we implemented is paying dividends,” SCSU athletics director Charlene Johnson said. “We are making strides and will continue to enhance our efforts.”

The school received perfect scores in men’s cross country and tennis for the 2006-07 school year.

Coastal Carolina’s men’s outdoor track team was docked .61 of a scholarship after posting a 903 multi-year APR score. Winthrop’s men’s cross country (918) will lose .26 of a scholarship.

The reason some programs lost a fraction of a scholarship is due to the fact scholarships in those sports are split in order to aid more student-athletes.

There were numerous other programs around the state that fell below the NCAA’s demarcation line of 925 but received no penalties. In each of those instances, the team’s academic progress was in line or ahead of the school’s student body.

Two other programs earned public recognition from the NCAA. Joining the eight teams Furman and Wofford in the top 10 percent of all programs were Winthrop’s men’s tennis team and the College of Charleston’s men’s cross country team.

Reach Obley at (803) 771-8473.