Seventeen fortunate schools and their student-athletes are celebrating this week. On Tuesday, the NCAA announced the winners of the Division I Accelerating Academic Success Program grant. This grant totals more than $1.5 million, meaning many of these schools will receive close to $100,000 individually.
Schools that receive the AASP grant will use the money to improve student-athletes’ academic success. Specifically, the money can be used for tutoring, professional development and technology upgrades. Schools can also invest in student-athlete career advising opportunities with the grant. According to DiverseEducation.com, 2023 grant recipients saw a, “graduation rate at 91%, which is the highest rate recorded.”
With this track record of success, the NCAA announced the next 17 schools to receive the grant. These include:
- Alabama State University
- Austin Peay State University
- Coppin State University
- Florida A&M University
- Houston Christian University
- Lamar University.
- La Salle University
- Long Beach State University
- Mississippi Valley State University
- University of New Orleans
- Northwestern State University
- Saint Peter's University
- South Carolina State University
- University of South Carolina Upstate
- Tennessee State University
- Texas Southern University
- Western Illinois University
Felicia Martin, the NCAA senior vice president of inclusion, education and community engagement, said, “This is always an exciting time of the year — to congratulate and highlight our Accelerating Academic Success Program recipients. Each campus recipient is intentional with their application by clearly stating a commitment to invest in and to evolve services to support student athletes' educational experience and their academic success.”
By awarding this grant money, the NCAA hopes to demonstrate a commitment to the academic progress and graduation rate of student-athletes. Academic progress rates were first measured in 2003 when the NCAA implemented a renewed focus on universities’ accountability for the academic success of student-athletes. Since the start of this program, academic data has been collected annually and studied to hold schools responsible for the success of their students.
