The University of South Florida’s efforts to overhaul its academic support for student-athletes persuaded the NCAA to withhold penalties the school would have faced in its latest progress report.

USF had faced the loss of scholarships this school year because of the weakened academic performance of its football and baseball players. But the NCAA decided to waive any sanctions, provided players on those teams showed progress for the 2007-08 school year.

Each team fell below the cutoff that measures success in the NCAA’s newest academic progress report of Division I schools, set to be released today. USF, however, “implemented several academic initiatives, which the institution asserts has had a positive influence on the team’s academic performance,” according to NCAA documents the university released Monday to The Tampa Tribune.

Here are USF’s scores by sport followed in parenthesis by the Division I average per sport – 1,000 is a perfect score:

Men’s sports: Baseball 923 (938); Basketball 904 (928); Cross country 934 (963); Football 917 (934); Golf 973 (962); Soccer 939 (954); Tennis 965 (961); Outdoor track 930 (951).

Women’s sports: Basketball 961 (960); Cross country 952 (970); Golf 993 (974); Soccer 975 (972); Softball 997 (965); Tennis 966 (971); Indoor track 961 (963); Outdoor track 962 (964); Volleyball 929 (970).