Detroit Mercy men’s basketball banned from next year’s postseason for academic reasons

DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Mercy men's basketball team is facing a postseason ban next season because the program did not meet the benchmark for the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate.

Detroit Mercy athletic director Robert C. Vowels Jr. released a letter on Monday confirming the academic problems, which comes one day before the NCAA is scheduled to release its annual APR report.

The news blunts Detroit Mercy's recent momentum on the basketball court after falling just one game short of the NCAA Tournament in March. The Titans finished with a 17-15 record last season and made it to the Horizon Tournament finals before losing to Wright State 66-63.

Vowels wrote that while APR is a "meaningful measure" of academic progress, many believe that it is based on an "overreliance on narrow, potentially biased measures that can perpetuate inequities and may undermine the broader educational mission."

He added that changes to the formula should be made for several reasons, including more financial incentives for players in the NIL era.

"While our program has undergone several changes over the last few years, we now have a new academic improvement plan in place to address the evolving NCAA era," Vowels wrote. "Head coach Mark Montgomery is committed to the Titans, and the coaching staff has been fully invested in academic monitoring and success since their arrival last year."