As noted in the News and Notes update Hokies' APR in Good Shape Overall, but Trails Most of the ACC, Virginia Tech's athletic programs, per the NCAA's new Academic Progress Rating (APR) formula, are in pretty good shape academically. But as with many things in the ACC, the Hokies have some catching up to do with regards to their conference mates.

First, from the News and Notes update, let's reprint the rankings of the ACC schools by overall APR.

It's no surprise to see the private schools and the "public private schools" (Virginia and UNC) occupying the top six spots in the ACC, above the conference average. Historically, the selling point of private schools is that their class sizes are smaller, students receive more individual attention, and they retain students better and graduate them at a higher rate than public universities do. Public state schools are "education for the masses," designed to educate the citizens of a state and improve employment opportunities, education levels, and the standard of living.

This private school phenomenon of higher retention and higher graduation rates trickles down into athletics. The NCAA reported that the average overall APR of private universities is 965, but for public universities, it's only 938.

Private school students pay out the wazoo for their supposed advantages. Tuition and fees for the ACC's four private schools range from $27,840 at Miami to $30,720 at Duke, versus tuition and fees of $5,838 in-state/$16,531 out-of-state for Virginia Tech, or $3,970 in-state/$15,818 out-of-state for NC State.

Below the ACC's Mendoza line of 965, the breakdown is interesting. Georgia Tech fans displayed an arrogance of their academics this past football season in conversations on their message boards, and the APR figures show there's some merit to that attitude, as Georgia Tech (964) leads the bottom six in the ACC. Maryland (963), Clemson (960), and FSU (959) are close behind, while VT (952) trails by a wider margin. NC State's figure of 929, the only one below the NCAA Division 1-A average of 944, is an eye-opener.

At first glance, it's depressing for VT fans to see the Hokies not just come in 11th, but trail the schools in front of them by a wide margin. But historically, VT has not enjoyed the financial benefits of stable conference membership, and those benefits extend down into academic support for athletes. The more money you have, the more academic advisors you can hire, the better academic support facilities you can provide, and the better your athletes will fare in school.

The education of athletes isn't so much a measure of the difficulty of your university's curricula or the quality of education at your university, nor is it solely a measure of the intelligence or stupidity of your athletes. It's just as much a measure of your academic support of those athletes, in the form of tutors, advisors, and facilities. VT has historically been under-funded when compared to longtime ACC members. (And it doesn't help VT's relative standing in the conference that they were invited in with two private universities, Miami and BC.)

Although lip service is paid to academics by all NCAA conferences, the ACC is dead serious about it. There is a culture in the ACC of being strong in academics. Do you think that same culture existed in the Metro Conference, Atlantic 10, or even the Big East, the places where Tech's athletic programs were housed for 25 years before joining the ACC? I don't.

As VT's athletic revenue has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade, the academic support for athletes has improved by those same leaps and bounds. VT Athletic Director Jim Weaver is known as a facilities guy, but he has also improved the athletic department drastically in many areas, including academic support. The other night on the Hokie Hotline, Weaver spoke excitedly about the new Lane Stadium West side expansion not just because of the fan experience and increased revenue it will provide, but because 18,250 square feet of academic space for all 21 VT sports are included in the expansion. VT's academic support offices are currently located in the oldest section of the Jamerson Center.

VT's APR figures are solid and something to be proud of, but when compared to the rest of the ACC, they don't stand up. Check back in ten years, though, and I think you'll see a different story. I can see athletic directors around the nation eyeballing the new APR figures and feeling a sense of competition welling up, a desire to ratchet that figure up and make their athletic programs look good. Virginia Tech will be no different, taking the APR numbers as a challenge to improve. And I think they will.

When you look at VT's scores in individual sports, how did that compare to the ACC average and Division 1-A averages? The table below tells the tale, and I'll present the figures without comment (in the interest of getting this article "out to press").

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