With the end of the school year quickly approaching, so is the end of many academic and athletic careers of Eastern student-athletes.

But the question is, how many of Eastern’s student-athletes graduate after their athletic careers?

One way to measure Eastern success is with academic progress rates (APR). APR measures the eligibility and retention for Division-I student-athletes.

The statistics developed get a sense of eventual graduation rates.

Each individual sport is measured on a scale, with a perfect score being 1000. If a school receives a score of less than 925, which equates to about 50 percent of the athletes in that sport graduating, scholarship reduction could be enforced.

Of Eastern’s 21 Division-I certified sports, two received perfect scores. Men’s and women’s golf were the only sports to post perfect scores.

Both golf teams and women’s soccer received public recognition for their academic accomplishments. The women’s soccer team had a score of 997.

The sport that scored worst was football with a 948; however, the score was good enough to maintain the same amount of scholarships. Football is also ranked fourth in the OVC in terms of APR.

Eastern head softball coach Kim Schuette said she tells her athletes exactly what she expects on the first day of school.

She expects student athletes to be at class every day and try their best.

“It’s hard to do well,” Schuette said. “It takes a special person to do well in the field and the classroom.”

Compared to the other Division-I schools in Illinois, Eastern fared well in terms of APR.

Illinois has 13 schools with Division-I status, and Eastern was never ranked lower than ninth in APR for any sports.

Women’s cross country finished ninth, scoring a 968. That score was better than five other programs at Eastern.

Men’s and women’s golf and women’s soccer ranked first in their individual programs.

The baseball program ranked second with a score of 977. Only Northwestern University ranked higher.

Chicago State scored an 885, which puts it in jeopardy of losing scholarships. Chicago State did not fare well, ranking last in four men’s sports. Its men’s basketball team scored 818, which resulted in a penalty.

Chicago State received a public noticed and lost two scholarships. Eastern’s men’s soccer team scored a 985, which ranked third in Illinois.

Junior Graham Lynch, a defender on Eastern’s men’s soccer team, said it is important to manage the time between sports and school because there is not much free time.

“During the season you have away games, homework due; it’s a lot to take in,” Lynch said.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or rdmortell@eiu.edu.