The success of Illinois-Chicago’s academics among sports teams has been blurred because of the penalty lodged against men’s track and men’s basketball by the NCAA, the school said on Thursday.
Each lost scholarships, but the latest Academic Progress Rate showed 13 of UIC’s 18 teams scored above the benchmark score of 925. The basketball team scored 922, above the national average for state public schools’ score of 918 and beat local teams such as DePaul (918) and Chicago State (848), UIC noted.
UIC said retention rates had more to do with the subpar scores in basketball and track than with academics. One transfer from the basketball team became an “0-for-2” because he left the program as an ineligible student. Shannon Ryan
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EDITED FROM TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES
