Ranking all 16 Big 12 football programs by 2026 academic progress rate

The Big 12 might not be considered a bastion of academia like some schools in the ACC or Big Ten, but the conference does have some programs with top-25 marks in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate. Four Big 12 programs boast top-25 APR scores, up from three a year ago, with another in the top 35. Further down the rankings, the conference has some schools at risk of falling below the postseason threshold, which we will get into later.

For reference, here is the NCAA's specific description of its APR measurement: The APR, or Academic Progress Rate, holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term. The APR is calculated as follows: A strong APR standing matters. Programs must remain above a four-year average APR of 930 to compete in postseason play—Akron (APR of 914) recently became the first program since 2014 to receive an academic-related postseason ban.

When used for the final bowl tiebreaker, the metric significantly impacts the football team. If 5-7 teams are needed to finalize the postseason schedule, the team with the highest APR often earns the bid, making it an important metric to watch. Here are the updated APR totals for every Big 12 football team.

The metric now includes the four-year average of the 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. The numbers below are also compared to each program's APR and Big 12 standing from last year. 16.