Trojans Showing Academic Progress

I want to set the record straight on a recent item in The Times about the USC football team’s NCAA Academic Progress Rate. The item was based on outdated information reported by a wire service.

It stated that USC’s APR is below the 925 cutoff score. This is not correct. The NCAA has made a number of adjustments to the 2003-04 data initially submitted and this has changed the APR for many schools.

USC’s revised football APR score for 2003-04 is 930, above the 925 line. And, coupled with our score of 927 for the recently submitted 2004-05 data (which has not yet been released publicly by the NCAA), our two-year football rate is 929.

TIM TESSALONE, USC

Sports Information Director