Elon Athletics fosters academic excellence in student-athletes

Elon University Athletics recently received some of its highest Academic Progress Rates scores in history from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

APR scores are a way for the NCAA to measure the academic performance of collegiate athletic departments. It is based on eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes. APR scores are based on a percentage of how much student-athletes retained from their total possible APR points. 

All 17 sports at Elon have multi-year APR rates of 980 — 98% — or above. Baseball, women’s basketball, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, softball and volleyball have an APR score that ranks first in the Coastal Athletic Association.

The most recent scores are based on a multi-year rate that includes scores from the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.

The women’s basketball team earned a perfect single-year score for the 13th straight year, while the softball and volleyball programs earned their eighth straight perfect score.

In an Elon Athletics press release, Elon University Athletics Director Jennifer Strawley expressed her gratitude to the athletic department for making this success possible.

“It takes the commitment, prioritization and collaboration of our students, coaches, academic support staff and our campus to achieve these goals and I am grateful to everyone for their unwavering commitment to our academic success,” Strawley said in the release. “Setting the standard for academic excellence will continue to be a cornerstone of our athletic program.”

Elon Athletics Director of Academic Support Services Cayce Crenshaw said these scores rely on recruiting. 

“It really comes down to recruiting the right student athletes and I think our coaches do a fantastic job of that,” Crenshaw said. “They recruit student athletes who are a good fit for Elon and who are going to be successful here.”

However, the APR scores aren’t the only evidence of success in academics for Elon Athletics. In December 2023, Elon’s most recent graduation rate for student-athletes was released. Elon had a graduation success rate of 96%, which is the eighth straight year of placing first or second in the CAA for that metric. Additionally, the CAA recently recognized 311 Elon student-athletes for Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll.

One way that Elon student-athletes excel in the classroom is through athletic academic advisers. Within the Academic Support department, there are five advisers — including Crenshaw — that work with every student-athlete to help make sure they are successful in their studies. 

“Our role is really to help our student-athletes balance both aspects of their commitments to the university athletic and academic, and making sure that our student-athletes can be successful and both reach their potential and both take advantage of everything that they want to do,” Crenshaw said.

Advisers put a heavy emphasis on first-year student-athletes, with whom they meet at least once a week to see how classes are going. According to Crenshaw, their main goal is to make sure student-athletes are on the right track and are able to take advantage of Elon’s academic opportunities, such as undergraduate research, while still playing their sport. 

“I think Elon is unique and that our students have the ability to take advantage of both of those pieces to have the success that they want to have in both,” Crenshaw said.

Crenshaw said they also help with scheduling classes for upcoming semesters.

“There are a handful of classes that would be really difficult to take in-season because of potentially missing classes due to team related travel,” Crenshaw said. “So we would know when those are and make sure that you take those when you're not in season.” 

Crenshaw also said that this balancing act of academics and athletics is at the heart of what the Academic Support department is trying to accomplish. She believes that student-athletes will only be able to succeed with the help of academic advisers and the resources the department provides. 

“Being able to balance athletics and academics and the academics is a cornerstone of, you know, what student athletes are doing here,” Crenshaw said. “You've got to have the support, both from the institution and from the athletic department, to make sure that everybody is able to reach their goals without having to sacrifice either.”