INDIANAPOLIS -- NCAA president Myles Brand wants college teams concerned as much about academic scores as final scores. If they aren't, they might be barred from NCAA tournaments.

Brand warned the underachievers Tuesday they could get hit with the NCAA's harshest sanctions -- fewer scholarships, reductions in practice and even a postseason ban. Nearly 150 teams face potential scholarship losses and another 26 are on the brink of a postseason ban because of poor academics.

"Academic reform is here to stay, and those penalties resemble what we give for major infractions. So these are serious penalties and there are a number of teams that received those," Brand said after releasing this year's Academic Progress Report. "Yes, there are individual institutions who have seen a steady decline (academically) over the last four years, and for them, the situation is dire."

Brand was mostly pleased with what he saw in the report.

Overall scores improved by four points since the NCAA began collecting data in 2003. Scores are also up in 26 of 29 sports over the last four years, and fewer teams were penalized than even NCAA officials expected last year. One reason was the substantial academic improvement made by baseball and football players. Those sports increased their average scores by 12 and 11 points since 2003, respectively, which equate to graduation rates in the mid 60s.

There was plenty of reason for concern, too.

More than 700 of the 6,272 Division I teams fell short of the mandated cut score of 925 to avoid penalties, and 218 were assessed punishments ranging from warning letters to reductions in practice times. Some were granted waivers while others showed enough improvement to avoid penalties.

But the 26 teams that have now scored less than 900 in two consecutive years must improve now. A third consecutive score below 900 would keep them out of NCAA tournaments 2009-10, and a fourth straight year on the list could lead to having Division I status revoked.

Schools already facing possible postseason bans include football teams at San Jose State, Southern and Temple, and men's basketball teams at New Mexico State, Centenary and East Carolina.

The numbers show large Division I schools, like those in the Bowl Championship Series conferences, performed relatively well.

Eighteen BCS teams were penalized, eight in men's and women's basketball and two in football. Of those, only four teams -- Kansas State, Purdue, Southern California and Tennessee -- made the NCAA men's basketball tournament. All four could lose up to two scholarships next season but only if a player leaves school while academically ineligible.

The Kansas State men's basketball team will lose one scholarship for the 2008-09 academic year after checking in at 880. Kansas State officials blamed the score on the three coaching changes at the school during the four-year span of the report.

Meanwhile, Kansas' football team will lose two scholarships for the same time period. The Jayhawks scored 919. Kansas administrators appealed the decision, based in part on the team's projected 56 percent graduation rate over the four-year span of the report, but were denied by the NCAA.

Money is also becoming a more notable factor. According to the report, 180 teams cited low resources as the reason for poor scores while 253 teams said they were hurt by the departures of academically ineligible players. Teams can cite more than one explanation for scores when filing the report.

The scores were based on academic performance from 2003-07. Athletes earn one point for remaining academically eligible each semester and another point each semester they remain at the school, accumulating a maximum of four points each year. The scoring is altered slightly for schools on a quarters-based calendar.