A recent run of success with three ACC championships this spring for the Blue Devils has coincided with continued excellence in the classroom.
The NCAA honored 12 of Duke's 26 varsity teams—including football and men's basketball—with Public Recognition Awards Wednesday for finishing in the top 10 percent in the nation in Academic Progress Rate, which measures players’ academic performance and their progress toward graduation.
The Blue Devils' 10 other teams recognized were men's and women's fencing, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's soccer, volleyball and women's cross country and track and field.
In several sports, APR can determine postseason eligibility, and the metric is especially significant in college football's bowl system. The bowls are required to fill vacancies with 5-7 teams that have the best APR after all the teams with records of .500 or better have been selected, a rule that could have come into play if Duke had won one more game last season to get to five wins.
This was the 10th straight year the Blue Devils had at least 12 teams recognized, but that number is down from 15 teams last year. Duke men's soccer squad saw its 11-year streak of winning the award end.
Football, men's golf and women's fencing are the Blue Devils' only teams left that have won the award all 12 years it has existed.
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