NATCHITOCHES – For the second year in a row Northwestern State student-athletes will benefit from a six-figure boost from the NCAA as part of its Accelerating Academic Success Program.
 
The AASP, established in 2012, assists Division I schools working to meet the NCAA's academic standards. Annually the NCAA awards over $1 million in grants to colleges and universities with limited resources to support the academic success of student-athletes with the goal of increasing graduation rates.
 
Only schools in the Football Championship Subdivision or classified as an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) are eligible to receive an AASP grant.
 
Northwestern will invest the $100,000 it receives into new computer equipment and laptops for the academic center lab that will allow more student-athletes to be able to use the academic center. It will allow more student-athletes the ability to attend summer school by helping offset the cost of tuition and fees and give the academic staff the resources to hire more content-specific tutors and mentors for NSU student-athletes.
 
The money will also allow more access to professional development tools and opportunities for the Student-Athlete Development staff with the ultimate goal of the grant's funds to improve the student-athlete academic outcomes each year.
 
"We're elated to receive the single year AASP grant for the second consecutive year," NSU Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Development and author of the grant proposal Ventric Fletcher said. "Receiving the AASP Grant is a testament to the hard work and dedication that we put into our student-athlete experience on a daily basis. Academic achievement is one of the cornerstones of NSU Athletics, and this grant will allow us to continue to improve our student-athlete academic outcomes."
 
As per the grant, Northwestern will add an additional $20,000 to the total for a combined investment of $120,000 into the academic center.
 
Northwestern was the recipient of the same six-figure grant amount a year ago, helping lead to a department-wide 3.06 GPA among all student-athletes, four teams finishing with a perfect 1,000 APR (Academic Progress Rate) and three other with totals of 975 or higher. 
 
Student-athletes at NSU had an 86 percent graduation rate during the 2023-24 academic year with 104 total student-athletes graduates and 161 selected to the President's List and Dean's List.
 
The 2024 grant is the third time Northwestern has benefited from an AASP grant, receiving a multi-year grant from 2014-16 that helped add another staff member to NSU's student-athlete development staff.