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Boston College, Clemson, Duke earn APR award

The Boston College, Clemson and Duke football teams were honored with NCAA Public Recognition Awards on Wednesday for finishing among the top 10 percent in Academic Progress Rate.

Clemson and Duke are two of five FBS programs ranked in the top 10 percent each of the last five years, joining Boise State, Northwestern and Rutgers. The Tigers are the only school to finish each of the last four seasons in the top 25 of both polls and in the top 10 percent in APR.

“I am very proud of our team, our coaches and our academic support staff at Vickery Hall,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said in a statement. “We have a culture where our student-athletes are committed to being the best they can be in what they do on the field and off the field, and that certainly includes graduating from Clemson."

In six seasons as coach, 114 of Swinney's 120 seniors (95 percent) have graduated.

Duke is the only FBS football program to win APR awards in every season since the NCAA began measuring in 2006. For this last semester, Duke had 73 football players earn a 3.0 grade-point average or higher. Overall, Duke had 15 programs earn the honor, second in the ACC behind Notre Dame (17). Boston College was next with 12.

APR annually measures academic achievement for all Division I sports and includes eligibility, retention and graduation in its calculation. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years.