Improved academics lands FSU coach Mike Norvell a bonus; FAMU football shows increase
Florida State football coach Mike Norvell means business on the field and in the classroom.
He makes clear that his program's academic performance is as much of a priority as the final score on football Saturdays.
And he was awarded for it.
Norvell will receive a $150,000 bonus after his team registered a 997 out of 1,000 in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate's single-year score for 2022-23, according to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today.
FSU's APR is among the best in the country.
The APR system tracks all student-athletes' academic terms. Every year, it measures the eligibility and retention for Division I athletes and indicates their graduation rates.
Since Norvell took over the football program in 2019, FSU's APR rate has increased to a program-best 982 across multiple years (2022-23).
Other athletic programs, such as men's and women's basketball, men's tennis, women's soccer and women's swimming also achieved the highest multi-year rate in program history.
FSU's Vice President and Athletics Director Michael Alford received a $500 bonus for each team with an APR of 950 or higher.
What is FAMU football's APR score?
Florida A&M's APR scores in football made a huge jump in former head coach Willie Simmons' final season.
FAMU football reached 950 in 2022-23, which is a 49-point improvement from 2021-22.
FAMU is one of the 10 football programs that has a 930 or higher. Baseball, women's basketball, bowling, tennis, volleyball and golf each have a 1,000 score.
"I am so proud of our student-athletes, coaches and support staff who have worked extremely hard to improve FAMU's NCAA APR rates," Tiffani-Dawn Sykes, Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said in FAMU's press release.
"Through the implementation of early pre-certification, increased communication with coaches and student-athletes, and other strategies, we were able to see immediate impact and improvement in our APR. I want to thank the FAMU Foundation and our partner, Nike whose investment in summer school scholarships supported us in accomplishing our single-year APR goals."
Simmons has moved on to be a running backs coach at Duke. James Colzie III was hired on Jan. 27.
To compete in the postseason, all teams must either have 930 multiyear APR or a 940 average over the most recent two years.
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football coach Mike Norvell earns bonus after high APR score
