Five from FCS receive postseason bans

Apr 20, 2016 - 11:14 PM (STATS) - Five programs from the two historically black conferences in the FCS received postseason bans for the 2016 season under NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate penalties announced Wednesday.

The bans, based on APR data reflecting the 2011-12 through 2014-15 school years, were levied against Florida A&M, Howard, Morgan State and Savannah State from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southern from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The champions from those conferences do not participate in the FCS playoffs, but they meet in the Celebration Bowl.

The five schools also received additional penalties, most involving practice time - the most mild against Howard and the most severe against Florida A&M, Savannah State and Southern.

APR scores measure the classroom performance of a team over a four-year period. All penalized institutions fell below an APR score of 930 on a scale of 1,000.