Spring Break
Univ. assesses student athletes
MELISSA WEINMAN
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News
The academic performance of student athletes is a controversial issue the University has worked to improve, especially over the past few years.
The University Council Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics met Tuesday afternoon to plan a meeting with students, coaches and academic support staff to interview them about their academic experiences.
The event is tentatively scheduled for March 27, and the committee intends to encourage all coaches to attend.
Associate Athletic Director Carla Williams said the teams watched closest academically are men's basketball, track, baseball and football.
The committee proposed questions to ask the coaches and students, such as how many hours were dedicated to the teams per week and how they deal with academic violations.
According to a recent USA Today study, coaches can require only 20 hours per week from their athletes, but the average athlete spends closer to 40.
Williams said the extra time is often personal practice or rehabilitation for injuries.
"If you're an elite athlete, you're going on your own to train," she said, citing gymnasts and swimmers as examples.
The committee also proposed measuring the success of recent academic policies put into place last January under Athletic Director Damon Evans.
Evans said the results would not be evident in graduation rates until 2011, but in the meantime, other factors could be used to assess the improving academic performance of athletes.
Last semester, graduation coincided with a football practice for the Sugar Bowl, but graduating players were excused.
He also said unlike some schools, there were no football players deemed ineligible for this year's bowl game.
After Evans was asked a series of questions by the committee, he turned the tables and tried to gauge how University faculty view the Athletic Association.
The committee, composed mainly of faculty members, said feelings were mixed.
Some felt class-checkers sent the message to instructors that the Athletic Association is committed to academics.
Others said faculty members were frustrated over issues ranging from getting football tickets to the amount of funding the association receives.
"It's a good problem to have but a difficult one to tackle," Evans said of the demand for tickets.
On the special facilities for athletes, he said, "At the end of the day, if it's in NCAA rules and helps athletes graduate, it's a good area to spend money on."
The University Council Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics met Tuesday afternoon to plan a meeting with students, coaches and academic support staff to interview them about their academic experiences.
The event is tentatively scheduled for March 27, and the committee intends to encourage all coaches to attend.
Associate Athletic Director Carla Williams said the teams watched closest academically are men's basketball, track, baseball and football.
The committee proposed questions to ask the coaches and students, such as how many hours were dedicated to the teams per week and how they deal with academic violations.
According to a recent USA Today study, coaches can require only 20 hours per week from their athletes, but the average athlete spends closer to 40.
Williams said the extra time is often personal practice or rehabilitation for injuries.
"If you're an elite athlete, you're going on your own to train," she said, citing gymnasts and swimmers as examples.
The committee also proposed measuring the success of recent academic policies put into place last January under Athletic Director Damon Evans.
Evans said the results would not be evident in graduation rates until 2011, but in the meantime, other factors could be used to assess the improving academic performance of athletes.
Last semester, graduation coincided with a football practice for the Sugar Bowl, but graduating players were excused.
He also said unlike some schools, there were no football players deemed ineligible for this year's bowl game.
After Evans was asked a series of questions by the committee, he turned the tables and tried to gauge how University faculty view the Athletic Association.
The committee, composed mainly of faculty members, said feelings were mixed.
Some felt class-checkers sent the message to instructors that the Athletic Association is committed to academics.
Others said faculty members were frustrated over issues ranging from getting football tickets to the amount of funding the association receives.
"It's a good problem to have but a difficult one to tackle," Evans said of the demand for tickets.
On the special facilities for athletes, he said, "At the end of the day, if it's in NCAA rules and helps athletes graduate, it's a good area to spend money on."
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