I spent a bunch of time last week surfing around the Web to see how folks were reacting to the fourth year of APR data. Of course, there were the usual rumblings and grumblings that come along with something like academic reform, but there was something else that stood out on a number of Web sites and blogs: enthusiasm!

That's right - it seems that fans were happy when their favorite teams performed well in the classroom. On a popular Boston College blog, an Eagles fan wrote: "What does it mean for BC? For the most part the news is excellent. The danger score is 925 and all of the BC teams are well above that number. Hats off to the athletics department for keeping our athletes in school and on the path to graduation."

When teams didn't perform well in the classroom, fans noted some disappointment. For example, on this North Carolina Tar Heels blog, a UNC Greensboro graduate wrote: "On a personal note, my alma mater, UNC Greensboro was penalized for poor ratings in men's basketball and baseball. I am willing to bet AD Nelson Bobb is not a happy man since I cannot count the number of times the student in student-athlete was emphasized during my three years of running cross country there."

Still others seemed to turn it into a competition, taking pride when their teams were at the top of the conference. On "The California Golden Blogs," the author wrote that: "Cal is way up at the top. USC was the only team to receive penalties (as noted above). As a minor note, the score for "private schools" is higher than the score for "public schools" pretty much across the board. Ammo for the Stanford complaintniks????? Only time will tell! Go Bears!"

The most important part of all this is that people are paying attention to APR, and are taking notice of how teams are performing in the classroom. Whether or not you agree with academic reform, there is little rationale for arguing its merit as a means of bringing academic success to the forefront of intercollegiate athletics.

Wins and losses on the fields of play matter, and fans will always smile after wins and pout after losses. But doesn't it signal a move in the right direction when those same fans are cheering and jeering the academic performance of those same student-athletes? To me, that signifies that APR and academic reform truly matter.