Just as bowl games have become a habit for the Rutgers football program lately, so has academic excellence.

The Scarlet Knights' football team was recognized by the NCAA today for finishing in the top 10 percent nationally for its multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score -- the fifth straight year the program has been acknowledged for its academic achievements.

Rutgers is also the only state university to be ranked in the top 10 percent nationally in APR for football.

"We're excited about it in our program," coach Kyle Flood said. "It speaks to a couple of things: the quality of the student-athlete that we've been able to bring here to Rutgers (and) the quality of the support system we've been able to put into place around them.

"We're very proud of the education that all of our students get here at Rutgers and to have our athletes, football players, achieving in this way is exciting for us, and in a semester where there's been a lot of change for our players (with the coaching staff upheaval) it's obviously very important to them as well."

The school's gymnastics and women's soccer teams were also recognized for their top 10 percent APR scores.

The APR provides a snapshot of a team's academic success each semester by tracking the progress of every athlete on scholarship and takes into account eligibility, retention and graduation. The top performing teams this year posted scores between 977 and 1,000, a perfect score.

The current APR evaluations were based on scores from the 2007-08 seasons through the 2010-11 seasons.

Rutgers football finished No. 1 nationally in the APR in 2010 and No. 2 in 2011. The APR scores for all schools will be released on June 20.

"Our focus every year is to compete in the classroom with the same intensity and commitment that we compete on the field and these programs continue to excel in both," Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti said in a statement. "Our department takes pride in the environment of excellence that we've created for our student-athletes to earn degrees, become leaders and win championships.

"This is a well-deserved honor for our coaches, academic advisors and student-athletes."

Flood had high praise for Scott Walker, preparing to enter his ninth year as Director of Football Academic Support.

"Any time you've been able to succeed at the level we've been able to -- to be in the top 10 percent each of the last five years, the only public institution in the country that has been able to do that -- it speaks to the quality of the people at the top, and Scott Walker heads the operation and he does a great job," Flood said.

The gymnastics team was under the direction of first-year coach Louis Levine.

Glenn Crooks coaches the women's soccer team.

Flood said the academic recognition is no small thing on the recruiting trail, either.

"The APR is always important in every recruiting conversation," he said. "At some point, the parents and the players and the people that are close to the prospect, they always ask about it. It's something I encourage them to ask everywhere they go. They should be comparing that just like they compare facilities, just like they compare depth charts and all of those things that people use to make their decision. This is a piece of the puzzle."

In addition to the APR recognition, Flood said the football team recently recorded its highest GPA for a semester "in 10 years."

"There's no reason you can't have a national championship football program and also get a great education while you're doing it," he said. "That's the formula we try to use here at Rutgers."