Academic Progress Rate will also cost the University of Idaho one scholarship.

Idaho State is one of three FCS schools banned from the playoffs as a result of poor Academic Progress Rates, the NCAA announced Tuesday.

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Idaho lost one football scholarship, a penalty the Vandals absorbed last season, while Boise State did not suffer any penalties for APR.

The Bengals also face practice time reductions and the loss of 2.98 scholarships for their four-year APR of 888, below the 925 threshold for penalties.

Each Division I sports team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes. Teams scoring below 925 out of 1,000 can face penalties. Rates are based on the past four years’ performance. The APR numbers released Tuesday reflect data from 2006-07 through 2009-10.

Idaho State’s football team has never achieved a score better than 892 since APR data has been released publicly (2004-05). The Big Sky program fired coach John Zamberlin after the 2010 season and replaced him with former Montana State coach Mike Kramer.

While at Montana State, Kramer never posted an APR better than 899.

To deal with the issue, Kramer hired an academic coach specifically for football, foregoing an assistant coach. He was aware of the postseason ban before taking the job.

“Coach Kramer has set a solid foundation for academic success with his football program,” Idaho State athletic director Jeff Tingey said. “We are confident with his vision of academic excellence that we will see improvement in our APR football score each year.”

Idaho State has gone 1-10 each of the past two seasons, making a trip to the 20-team FCS playoffs unlikely in Kramer’s first season even before the ban. Jackson State and Southern University are the other schools banned from the FCS playoffs in 2011.

By Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/05/25/1662580/idaho-state-ineligible-for-football.html