CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Three teams at Charlotte were recent recipients of the NCAA Public Recognition Award. The men's and women's tennis teams, along with the men's cross country team were recognized for their outstanding academic achievement.

The honor is bestowed on teams with an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. 

Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). The announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes both retention at an institution and academic eligibility in its calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.

In seven years of the NCAA's academic reform program, 2,946 different teams have received Public Recognition Awards, representing 46 percent of eligible teams during that time. Of that total, 209 teams have received Public Recognition Awards each of the seven years of the program.