Augusta State's men's golf team will lose almost a quarter of a scholarship after falling below the NCAA's standards for academic progress.

The Jaguars are limited to awarding 4.27 scholarships next season, 0.23 below the NCAA limit. Augusta State golf coach Josh Gregory said the penalty doesn't affect the team, because the Jaguars don't use 4.5 scholarships.

"We're going to have to learn to make better decisions in recruiting," he said. "You can't really take any possible academic liabilities."

In the NCAA's Academic Progress Report, which is designed to improve academic success at Division I programs, Augusta State posted a score of 890 for the previous four academic years. The NCAA has established a score of 925 out of 1,000 as acceptable for each sport. The APR is a point system based on scholarship athletes remaining eligible and in school.

Players receive two points per semester, one for remaining eligible and one for staying at the school. So if Augusta State has 10 players, the team has to earn at least 37 out of 40 points during the year to meet the .925 percent rule (which is multiplied by 1,000 to reach the 925 score).

Gregory said his team's score took a hit last spring after he kicked off two players who were struggling in the classroom and not working hard.

"In the long run, I'm better off removing kids who aren't doing the right things, even if it costs us .23 scholarships," he said. "It was definitely for the betterment of my program."

Gregory said the problem with the rule comes when a golfer transfers because he's homesick or one of his parents dies. Then, the school takes a hit in its APR score.

"If the kid decides to go home, that's where there's a little bit of a gray area," he said. "For the most part, on the academic side of things, they are dead on."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.