SDSU Academic Performance

[JackJD]

The Argus Leader story about SDSU's first Academic Progress Report:

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...22/1002/SPORTS

"South Dakota State's first experience with the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report, a standard of classroom performance and student-athlete retention, was a mixed bag.

Four teams - men's swimming, women's golf, women's swimming and volleyball - posted perfect scores of 1,000 for the 2005-06 school year. And three teams - baseball, men's basketball and women's tennis - came in below 925, the first baseline for which programs become subject to contemporaneous penalties such as a reduction in scholarships. Teams failing to hit 900 can be more harshly penalized.

Whether high or low, SDSU's initial numbers are nothing too get too worked up about; a school cannot be sanctioned - or officially praised - by the NCAA until the league has four years worth of data from which to calculate an average.

...."

[Haldersham]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

I think this article explains pretty good the difference between D2 and D1 in terms of academics. Also it echos what I have felt all along about the quality of athlete that are being recruited. Are they going to graduate? Are they going to make it to the classroom and learn? I hope the folks from USD read this article. It says a bunch about what is different.

Good job Terry.

[bballfan54]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Well let's not tar them all with the same brush please.

[Haldersham]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Huh, I am not taring any one. I am just stating what its all about. I got an idea you are trying to make me go down a road I dont want to go. Academics have and always should be important at SDSU. I dont feel anyone should get a free ride in meeting academic requirements. I dont like what other D1 institutions have done in the past and that is to use the athlete for his talents and as soon as their eligibilty is done, they kicked the athlete out the door. Then in this whole process , the institution has overlook academic deficiences from High school for the exploited athletes. Its happen enough that NCAA decided to do something about it.

D1 has in the past 15 years or so set up and made new rules and they are all good and for the benefit of the institution and the individual athlete alike.  If you had attended the open forum on the ceritication process, like I did you would have been told that SDSU has many study groups and study tables to help all student athletes no matter what sport they participate in. SDSU had enough of the help groups to make Carr and Associates tell the AD that he needed an academic advisor but really did not need an advisor since there were abundance of study tables and the faculty was committed to making them work.

There are grants from the NCAA to fund a salary of an over all academic guidance director and SDSU has applied and may hire this individual sometime in the near future. My wording may be sketchy but this too was talked about at the forum.

The day SDSU decides to compromise on academics is the day that I stop my electronic tranfer from my checking account to the the SDSU Foundation. The entire institution will indeed receive the tar brush.

[joeboo22]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Maybe I am on the wrong side of this but I think the NCAA expects way too much out of these athletes. From what I have heard SDSU highley recomends that you only take 12 credits durring the semester of your season. If you get a D or an F in one of those classes (3 credits) it becomes very hard to achieve a good GPA.

However from skimming through the reports it sounds like SDSU has had great success in the classroom.

[propar80]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Maybe I am on the wrong side of this but I think the NCAA expects way too much out of these athletes. From what I have heard SDSU highley recomends that you only take 12 credits durring the semester of your season. If you get a D or an F in one of those classes (3 credits) it becomes very hard to achieve a good GPA.
However from skimming through the reports it sounds like SDSU has had great success in the classroom.

Best not get a "D" or an "F" then.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

The NCAA expects too much of athletes? Thats a bunch of BS. College athletes are called STUDENT athletes for a reason. They are STUDENTS. They don't deserve different treatment because they are athletes. It's not difficult to avoid getting a D, or an F. The university has many programs to help student athletes make the grade. They have mandatory study tables for all freshmen and upperclassmen with a GPA under a certain level. If an athlete is not making the "grade" its likely due because he is slacking off on his/her school work.

To say that athletes have it too hard is crap. Playing college sports is a priviledge not a right. Why should students be given a break because they are athletes?

[joeboo22]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Ok I will debate that head on. As a student athlete you have to obey numerous NCAA rules in which most qualified lawyers couldn't explain. Second of all while most STUDENTS get a 5 week christmas break, the basketball team gets 3 days. They HAVE TO achieve good grades.. All of this while your on the road alot. Before going to college I had little respect about athletes until coming to college when I learned what it meant to be a college athlete. I do believe that these kids shouldn't get a free pass I have made that clear but I think that everybody expects way too much out of them. The one major problem I have with this is its effects affect future athletes. I think that instead of punishing a school finansually they should go in and help improve it.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Ok I will debate that head on. As a student athlete you have to obey numerous NCAA rules in which most qualified lawyers couldn't explain. Second of all while most STUDENTS get a 5 week christmas break, the basketball team gets 3 days. They HAVE TO achieve good grades.. All of this while your on the road alot. Before going to college I had little respect about athletes until coming to college when I learned what it meant to be a college athlete. I do believe that these kids shouldn't get a free pass I have made that clear but I think that everybody expects way too much out of them. The one major problem I have with this is its effects affect future athletes. I think that instead of punishing a school finansually they should go in and help improve it.

Does the basketball team have to go to classes over Christmas break? Not sure what that has to do with anything....especially grades.

College is about getting an education......a student should be required to get good grades especially the atheletes since they are the face of most D-1 institutions. They are not expected to get 4.0's but a 2.5 or above or even a 3.0 should be achievable....especially with 12 credits.

[thebluehatman]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

Ok I will debate that head on. As a student athlete you have to obey numerous NCAA rules in which most qualified lawyers couldn't explain. Second of all while most STUDENTS get a 5 week christmas break, the basketball team gets 3 days. They HAVE TO achieve good grades.. All of this while your on the road alot. Before going to college I had little respect about athletes until coming to college when I learned what it meant to be a college athlete. I do believe that these kids shouldn't get a free pass I have made that clear but I think that everybody expects way too much out of them. The one major problem I have with this is its effects affect future athletes. I think that instead of punishing a school finansually they should go in and help improve it.

If too much is expected outta them they can quit like Bob Bilitz, Cam Hornby, or transfer like Cadwell. They have study tables on road trips. I know this because when I was with the volleyball team they had at least an hour study table in a hotel conference room. Athletes don't deserve privileges. If you can't manage a 2.0, 2.5 then you don't deserve to be on the team do you? College first, sports second. I know the coaches up here would not disagree with that statement. If you can't stay up to par with a standard set by a governing party than you should and will be punished, talk to some schools in the BS conference about that.

[joeboo22]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

I do support the 2.0 mandatory gpa I just think that D-I sports is a strain on college athletes and they don't get the credit that they deserve and I really don't like taking away scholarships from schools that don't meet the standard. SDSU won't have huge problems but the new rules hurt schools if a player fails after he has ended his elgibility.

As far as Christmas Break... no they don't have classes but they do have practices and games...

[thebluehatman]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

From reading the article, players transferring to other schools hurts the APR.

How the APR works: Each scholarship athlete can earn two points per semester, one for maintaining eligibility and one for remaining at the school. The total points accumulated by a team are divided by the total points possible and multiplied by 1,000 to calculate the APR; 925 was established as the minimum acceptable number because it projects a graduation rate of roughly 60 percent.

The women's basketball team, for example, had 12 players on scholarship in 2005-06. One transferred while in good academic standing and one left while ineligible, costing the team three points and dropping the APR to 935 - the bottom 20th percentile - for the same year that it led the nation in GPA.

Meanwhile, the defection-derailed men's basketball team scored 891, ranking in the bottom 10 percent within all sports. However, that's likely to change as schools are allowed to apply for after-the-fact waivers from the NCAA that, accompanied by proper documentation, have been granted more often than not, according to Heylens. The Jackrabbits may regain three points because one player who left when academically ineligible has since regained good standing, one left due to a family emergency and another who left has also returned.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...22/1002/SPORTS

[Haldersham]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

I do support the 2.0 mandatory gpa I just think that D-I sports is a strain on college athletes and they don't get the credit that they deserve and I really don't like taking away scholarships from schools that don't meet the standard. SDSU won't have huge problems but the new rules hurt schools if a player fails after he has ended his elgibility.

As far as Christmas Break... no they don't have classes but they do have practices and games...

Many of the past problems can be traced to the adminstration, be it President, chancellor or what ever the title, and more specifically to the Athletic Director. It is their job to see that all the academic rules are followed. Not only that each institution votes on all the dumb rules that have been put in place at the NCAA  convention held in January each year. The adminstration also has the responisiblity for following these rules. Any violation, any short cut can and should come back to institutions. Coaches, AD's and presidents lose their jobs for not being proper and not maintaining the standards. Sure it hurts the future with reductions of scholarships, but its the only way to get people's attention.

Maintaining academic standards is not a problem at SDSU at the present time as best I can tell.

I believe JackJD posted a link to the list of 48 schools where there are academic problems. Montana State is one of them in sport of football. If I was the president of that school, I would want the AD and Coach to come to my office and explain what have they been doing or what have not doing in order to earn this distiction of getting this reduction. I suspect he already knows since often academic faculty are involved in the certification process. I suspect this has already happened and some coaches and maybe even the AD are on thin ice in terms of job security.

Certainly, having the talent to participate is a priviledge and not a right as some one else has pointed out. At the same time, I think the student athletes are short changed if academic short cuts are taken in order to participate in a athletic activity. This should never happen. In the recruiting process, if a coach during home visits and through other contacts, senses a lack of dedication and motivation academically, the coach does us all a favor by moving on to the next candidate.

Lastly my transcript of nearly 45 years has "D"s and "F"s none of which I am proud of. I am the person who could have prevented them from being a permanent mark. Most of the time, it was lack of work on my part or I did not care for the prof style teaching or just plain being lazy or some other excuse.   Does it hurt your future? Yes it limited the choices of an MBA programs that I could choice from.

[joeboo22]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

O what a surprise its CONFUSING... The womens basketball team has the highest D-I GPA and ranks in the bottom 20%, the mens team has a respectable team GPA but ranks below the 900...

[valleyrabbit]

Re: SDSU Academic Performance

O what a surprise its CONFUSING... The womens basketball team has the highest D-I GPA and ranks in the bottom 20%, the mens team has a respectable team GPA but ranks below the 900...

I think a lot has to do with the number of transfers hurting the graduation rate. If a player transfers obviously they won't graduate from SDSU.