HUNTINGTON -- NCAA report cards were issued Wednesday, and Marshall's Thundering Herd passed.

The latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate showed Marshall University sports teams are meeting the mark in the classroom.

All of Marshall's sports surpassed the APR benchmark of 925, including football (950), men's basketball (937), women's basketball (940) and baseball (942).

The APR measures the classroom performance of every Division I team and is based on data collected from 2005-06 through 2008-09.

Each Division I team calculates its APR annually based on the eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes. Teams scoring below 925 out of 1,000 can face penalties, such as scholarship losses and restrictions on practice and competition. Teams consistently falling below 900 can be penalized more harshly.

West Virginia University, for example, faces a penalty for its women's rowing team with a score of 915.

Otherwise, the Mountaineers checked out in good shape for all sports including football (952), men's basketball (990) and women's basketball (951).

Ohio State's football (975), men's basketball (929) and women's basketball (993) made the cut. Kentucky also received good reports on all of its sports including men's basketball (954).

The APR is billed as a real-time academic measure of every Division I team. Each athlete receives one point per semester for remaining academically eligible and another point each semester for remaining at that school or graduating.

A mathematical formula is then used to calculate a final team score.

Schools receiving sanctions included Colorado, which was penalized one scholarship in men's basketball and four in football. Colorado was one of 10 schools to be sanctioned in both sports, though the other nine all compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. And four of those 10 are Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The Buffaloes scored 920 in football and 897 in men's basketball.

Syracuse lost two scholarships in men's basketball for falling below the NCAA's 925 cutline. Officials said they took away the scholarships last season after academically ineligible players left school.

Conference USA men's basketball programs at Houston and UTEP were hit with a penalty.

Florida International and Southeastern Louisiana both had seven teams sanctioned, the most in Division I. McNeese State was next with six. Cal State-Fullerton, Chicago State, Delaware State, Howard and Nicholls State all had four teams on the list. Georgia Southern, Portland State, Southern University, Southern Utah, Chattanooga and Texas-San Antonio each had three.

The good news is that overall APR scores increased by three points, to 967, over last year. Scores in the three lowest scoring sports -- baseball, football and men's basketball -- also increased and the number of teams decreased for the second straight year.

Walt Harrison, chairman of the NCAA Committee on Academic Performance, said 27 percent fewer athletes are flunking out of school since 2004-05 and that more athletes are coming back to earn degrees.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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