APR to force Oklahoma State to miss day of football practice per week

Oklahoma State's football program will be getting particularly bad news today. As first reported by GoPokes.com, the Cowboys will be forced to give up a day of of practice each week during the 2014-2015 season after failing to meet the NCAA minimum in APR (Academic Progress Rate), which is set to 930 over a four-year period. The Pokies just barely missed the cut, with their APR number at 929.41. Had the number been 929.50, it would have rounded up and the Cowboys could have avoided penalty. An even lower APR could've meant even more damaging penalties (such as a postseason ban).

This marks the biggest penalty any major program will face for APR related infractions. New Mexico State also received the same penalty while Idaho and UNLV both received postseason bans. Effectively for the entirety of the 2014 season, the Cowboys will be practicing one day less than the opponent they'll face the ensuing week. From the glass half full vantage, Fox Sports Southwests' David Ubben says that the Cowboys already practiced less than probably any program in the Big 12.

This problem shouldn't be too much of an issue long term – at least that's what the program anticipates – as OSU states they've made adjustments to help improve their score over the past two years. This reporting period spans the 2012-13, 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2009-10 school years, and the 2009-10 season, the worst of them all, will no longer count for future APR checks by the NCAA.