Show q Sizes Up Athletes by Academics 1 r r David Wharton Los Angeles Times time Big-time college sports focused for so long on football football football foot foot- ball rankings and basketball tournament see dings will get a new set of numbers to ponder Monday For the first time the will release a comprehensive comprehensive comprehensive compre compre- academic progress rate report an annual survey that rates every major college team in the nation from the largest football squad to the smallest rowing crew by how howit it performs in the classroom The numbers will eventually eventual eventual- ly be used as part of a broad academic reform in which teams must satisfy minimum Y y standards or face penalties that include loss of scholarships scholarships scholarships scholar scholar- ships and banishment from postseason play The inaugural progress report known as APR represents represents represents the a trial run because will not begin handing handing handing hand hand- ing out penalties until next year Still officials predict that more than 50 percent of ot I Division I schools will have below at at least one team fall r t the so-called so cutoff line L and they warn athletic departments depart- depart i r ments to take heed adviser senior r Wally Renfro called it a at the waiting to t snake in grass J. J bite you you f If you are living life in in the he said it is is danger zone only a matter of time before you get into trouble The has come k under increasing scrutiny i since 2001 when a respected the Knight watchdog group L i Foundations Foundation's Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics decried a widening chasm between higher educations education's ideals and time big-time college sports Critics have recommended for instance that teams should have to graduate at least 50 percent of their athletes athletes athletes ath ath- letes to be eligible for postseason postseason postseason post post- season play This past football football football foot foot- ball season nearly half of the squads in bowl games failed to meet that standard Of the eight teams in the prestigious bowl championship championship championship champi champi- series only three Michigan and Virginia Tech had graduation rates of 50 percent or higher Listen the Knight Commission has wanted there to be consequences for poor academic performance Thomas for a long time said Hearn president of Wake Forest and the commissions commission's chair We support what the is doing But not everyone is confident confident confident dent the APR will help to bring change Ellen a professor sor of sport management and media at Ithaca College in New York says that as long longas as college sports equate to big money with multimillion- multimillion dollar television contracts and corporate sponsorships coaches and their athletic departments will be pressured pressured pressured pres pres- to cut corners comers if not cheat to winI winI win winI of confidence confidence confidence I dont don't have a lot dence the APR will have a said meaningful impact who who belongs gS toan to toan toan that has an academic group pushed for athletic reform The needs to take a very hard look at the entire nature of college sports Until such time as those kinds of things get cleaned up if they can be cleaned up than these other measures are what I would call public relations moves designed to protect the brand It was the fall of 2002 when leaders prodded prodded prodded prod prod- ded by President Myles Brand began passing a new round of academic legisla legisla- tion First came a change to the eligibility standard for incoming freshmen Critics had argued that requiring a minimum score on standardized tests was unfair to blacks and Latinos who have tended to score lower than other groups The association instituted a sliding sliding sliding slid slid- ing scale that relied more heavily on point grade-point average average average aver aver- age while requiring high school students to take additional additional additional addi addi- preparatory college-preparatory classes Next the toughened toughened toughened tough tough- ened the rules for athletes once they reach college To remain eligible scholarship players must complete 40 percent of the credits toward a degree by the end of their second year 60 percent by bythe bythe bythe the end of the third and 80 percent by the end of the fourth Finally last April officials proclaimed a sea change with the enactment of the APR and its penalties for poor performance The program program program pro pro- gram was intended to go beyond the traditional practice practice practice tice of punishing individual athletes now holding teams and entire athletic depart depart- ments accountable The APR formula works like this At the end of each academic ic period be it a semester or quarter each athlete is graded on two points Did he or she get high enough grades to remain eligible for sports Did he or she stay in school A basketball team with 10 players would have a maximum maximum maximum maxi maxi- mum potential score of 20 points a semester or 40 forthe for forthe forthe the school year If two players fail their classes and drop out the team gets 36 of 40 points for a average or as the calculates calculates calculates cal cal- it a score of The has set the cutoff cutoff cutoff cut cut- off line at so the hypothetical hypothetical hypothetical hypo hypo- team scoring could face penalties If a team falls below and one of its players leaves school it loses that scholarship scholarship scholarship scholar scholar- ship for the next academic year Extremely low could result in the loss of up to 10 percent of scholarships and additional recruiting restrictions As Renfro explained have a program that is going to have a very hard road coming back to nence nence Built into the new system isa isa is isa a significant incentive In the past if a player became academically academically academically acad acad- ineligible it behooved the team to cut himor him himor or her loose freeing up that scholarship Now the team is better off keeping the player enrolled in classes thereby scoring an extra point Did the athlete stay in school on its APR report We want schools to retain those students said Kevin Lennon an vice pres pres- ident That student has fallen off the academic wagon but the institution says We sWe want you to get well Soon the will introduce an additional yardstick yardstick yardstick yard yard- stick called the graduation success rate or This will measure the percentage of athletes from a given team who graduate within six years The resembles the US U.S. governments government's current measure of graduation rates but with adjustments that coaches have clamored for At present if an athlete transfers in from another uniSee uniSee uniSee uni- uni See College continued on page 10 I College continued from page 9 his or her eventual graduation does docs not count toward the teams team's percentage Similarly any athlete who transfers out or leaves school early to turn professional even with good grades counts as a dropout The graduation rate will give teams credit for anyone who transfers in or out in good academic standing But the new program also carries stiff consequences for schools that do donot donot donot not graduate enough players The so-called so historically based penalties include exclusion from postseason play and further loss of scholarships Severe cases could even result in a school being expelled from the But these historical penalties will not kick in until the 2008 09 school year In the meantime the has some kinks to work out of the system The association is still wrestling with adjustments to the APR cutoff line of For instance losing two players would doom a small team while barely making a dent in the score for an man 85 football squad Officials are also considering a waiver by which some schools such as urban and commuter campuses with lower overall graduation graduation graduation grad grad- rates are not held to the same standards standards standards stan stan- dards as say Stanford or Harvard a philosophical point that I dont don't know if our membership has ever wrestled down Lennon said Whatever form the APR and ultimately ultimate ultimate- ly take leaders hope that with today's initial report athletic programs will adopt a different view of the relationship between athletics and academics The goal is not to crush a program Lennon said The goal is to change behavior |