Azusa Pacific University Sports Recruiting
Azusa Pacific University is a premier Christian Research University offering over 100 programs for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus and online. Total student population is 9,929 and total faculty is 1,220. Student to faculty ratio is 12:1.
APU’s main campus in San Gabriel Valley, Azusa, California houses the administrative offices, academic buildings, and sports facilities that include a gymnasium / athletic stadiums and baseball, softball and soccer fields, tennis complex, basketball and volleyball courts. The seven off-site regional centers are located in Victorville, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Murrieta, San Diego and Ventura County.
APU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and 13 other professional accreditation entities. Under the Veterans’ Bill of Rights APU is approved for training veterans, and is listed for the training of foreign students with the US Department of Justice. It is ranked #173, Tier 1 (2014) and recognized yearly as one of the nation’s ‘Best Colleges’ by U. S. News & World Report. For the sixth straight year, APU is one of 121 institutions in Princeton Review’s ‘Best Western Colleges’. It is ranked #365 out of 650 top schools (2013) by Forbes, and G. I. Jobs lists APU among the top 15 military-friendly schools.
Athletics Department of Azusa Pacific University
Intercollegiate athletics have always been part and parcel of student life at Azusa Pacific University since the 1940’s and APU has always been a model of integrity, leadership and success in athletics since then. The teams’ Christian traits combined with determination, sportsmanship, unity and respect for the rules, officials and opponents have brought them recognition on the national level.
When it comes to support, the APU’s athletics department offers optimum health care to student-athletes, delivered by its competent sports medicine staff that provide administrative and clinical services. They do not only develop and implement emergency medical plans, maintain records and compile data on injuries or handle the supplies; more importantly, they prevent, evaluate, manage, treat, rehabilitate and recondition injuries of the student-athletes on the APU teams to get them back on track fast.
Athletics Programs of Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 1965, and adopted a secondary association with the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) in 1969. Its membership application for NCAA Division II was approved in July 2011 and, after the 3-year transition period; APU will be able to play as a full member for the NCAA Division II championships in 2014-2015. APU joined as an associate member of NCAA Division II’s Pacific West Conference (PacWest), Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), Pacific Coast Swimming and Diving Conference (PCSC), and the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) as a founding member, to play during the interim.
From the 1950’s APU’s 7-sport men’s program has grown to a 19-sport, nationally recognized men’s and women’s athletics program. With a stable of passionate coaches, competent staff and able support teams, APU has become a formidable force to reckon with in the field of sports. APU’s men’s varsity sports cover football, soccer, tennis, basketball, baseball and track and field, while the women’s varsity sports consist of basketball, volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer, track and field, water polo, swimming and diving, and track and field.
Official Sports Team: Cougars
The APU Cougars have so far won 48 national and 113 conference championships. APU has won the prestigious NACDA Directors’ Cup for nine consecutive years (eight with NAIA and one with NCCAA); from 1996, when the Directors’ Cup was established, until 2012 APU was the only school to finish in the top 10 every single year – a 17-year feat unmatched by any other. Due to its brilliant performance at NCCAA, APU was honored for being the association’s top overall athletics program and presented with the NCCAA 2012-2013 Presidential Award for Excellence.
Guide to Athletic Scholarships for Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University offers athletic scholarships to students who qualify to participate in the following athletic programs: baseball, football, men’s/women’s basketball, men’s/women’s soccer, volleyball, track & field/cross country, and acrobatics and tumbling. Scholarship grants vary, and may be affected by state, federal and/or institutional policies. Scholarships and grants are awarded on a yearly basis and the requirements of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and the Athletics Department must be met in order to retain eligibility.
Other scholarship programs such as need and merit-based, course-specific financial aid and student/parent loans are also offered to APU students in varying amounts. In 2012 APU awarded various financial aid packages to 95% of its students; 98% of the full-time students received scholarships or grants while 68% availed of student loans.