DALLAS, Texas —The South Carolina State Department of Athletics was among several universities that were honored on Monday at the seventh annual FCS Athletics Directors Association APR Awards Banquet, in Dallas at the 2016  NACDA and Affiliates Convention.

Director of Athletics Paul Bryant was on hand to accept the Most Improved APR award on behalf of the department of athletics. Bryant was also recognized for being one of 15 recipients of the 2015-16 FCS ADA Stipend Award, granted to administrators from across the country to attend the convention.

Honored along with South Carolina State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference were  University of  North Dakota (Big Sky Conference), Presbyterian College (Big South Conference), Stony Brook (Colonial Athletic Association), Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference), Wagner College (Northeast Conference), Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley Conference), Bucknell (Patriot League Conference), Stetson (Pioneer Football League), University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (Southern Conference), Southeastern Louisiana (Southland Conference), Alabama State (SWAC) and Columbia University in New York City (The Ivy League). All were honored for having the Most Improved APR in their respective conferences.

S.C. State was recognized for having the most improved football academic progress rate (APR) score in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for 2014-15 academic year.

The awards are given annually and recognize FCS institutions that have achieved either the highest multi-year APR average in their respective conference or have registered the greatest single-year APR score improvement among their conference membership (score must be above 900).