In the NCAA's 2013 report, Samford student-athletes achieved an average Academic Progress Rate of 990, the highest in Alabama.[56] It marked the eighth consecutive year that Samford has been a leader in APR measures, beginning in 2005 when it placed 7th in the nation in the inaugural ranking.[56] The university is one of only 61 schools to have received an NCAA Public Recognition Award for academic excellence in the past eight years.[57]