Putting the STUDENT back into student-athlete

February 19, 2008

I sat silently in the cafeteria, waiting to give a tour to potential students. These were not just any normal students; they were the future signees for our football program. The school had rolled out the red carpets for this forty-odd group of high school seniors. I was currently sitting in the back of the small cafeteria listening to the Clearinghouse rules. I was not paying much attention until the minimum ACT/SAT and GPA were mentioned. The numbers shocked me. To participate in Division II sports, all one needs is an ACT score of 17 or a SAT score of 820 and a GPA of 2.0. What troubled me even more was that some of the football players in attendance were still trying to raise their GPA so that they could play for the college. Such low standards are disappointing to me, for these athletes are receiving scholarships to attend college in order to gain an education. Yet, I know it is ridiculous to think that many of these athletes will put school before their sport since they chose not to do so in high school. Eventually, these students will either flunk out of or barely get by in college, thus wasting the college education they were offered. Students, including myself and a number of my friends, find it frustrating when such athletes show up late to class and do not participate once they are there. Generally, they tend to diminish the quality of the classroom experience and the reputation of the school. Yet, these athletes are getting paid to attend the college and this money could be going to someone more deserving. When confronted with the low-standards to which athletes are held, I was all the more overjoyed that the NCAA All-Academic list for cross-country was released since this list highlights the academic achievements of athletes. It celebrates those athletes who are dedicated to excellence and who contribute to their academic communities and to their sport.

To qualify for individual All- Academic honors, all student-athletes must complete 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and have a 3.25 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). For DII cross-country runners, one must finish in the top 30 percent of individual runners at the regional meet. To be eligible for the team award, teams submit a roster for consideration that includes all student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA eligibility form and who have competed in 50 percent or more of the cross-country competitions on the team's schedule. Furthermore, the team must compete at the NCAA Division II regional championships and have a team cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

On the womenâ€™s side, Seattle Pacificâ€™s Jessica Pixler was picked as the top student-athlete for the 2007 cross-country season, thus winning the top individual All-Academic honors. Pixler, who won the individual title at the Division II cross-country championships in November, is no stranger to top honors. The womenâ€™s squad from Adams State was honored with the team All-American award by winning the team title at the Division II cross-country championships and having a 3.5 GPA. Adams Stateâ€™s Aaron Braun won the menâ€™s award. Braun was the runner-up at the championship race. He boasts a 3.7 GPA and is a math education major. Abilene Christian took the menâ€™s team honors.

So why is All-Academic so important? Only a small percentage of college runners turn professional and are able to make a living off of running. By applying the same work ethic we have for our running to our college education, we will be able to be successful. We will be able to graduate and be able to achieve our professional goals and endeavors. We will be putting our college education to good use. We will not simply be wasting scholarship money. We will be able to be leaders in the real world and contribute to society. Who knows, one of us could be the next president. Perhaps become a CEO of a major company. Power and money are not the only measures of success; perhaps one of us will work for a nonprofit and fix a major world crisis. If we can translate our passion for running to other aspects our lives, we can change the world for the better and improve the profile of our sport. We need to remember we wear many different pairs of shoes; athlete and student just happen to be two. Congratulations to all who made the All-Academic list.

Meets for the Weekend of February 15 There were several big meets this weekend below is a brief recap of some Division II results and Flotrack has the rest of the results up so you can look at them yourself.

All-Ohio Indoor T & F Championships Findlayâ€™s Kirby Blackley set the womanâ€™s meet record in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.33 and automatically qualifying for the National indoor meet. Ashlandâ€™s Steph Tinney preliminary qualified for the National meet by running a 56.73 for a 400m. Findlayâ€™s Kristi Comstock won the 800m in the time of 2:15. Ashlandâ€™s Jennifer Tinney won the shot put with a throw of 15.16m.
Tiffinâ€™s Jeremy Lee won the menâ€™s mile in the time with 4:18. Ashlandâ€™s Tom Scott won the 800m with 1:55.

Tyson Invitational Abilene Christian was out in full force this weekend. On the menâ€™s side in the mile, Julius Nyango and Daniel Maina finished third and fourth, respectively, with automatic qualifying times of 4:08.55 and 4:09.55, respectively. Also posting an automatic qualifying time was Desmond Jackson, who clocked in at 6.78 seconds in the 60 meter preliminaries. On the women's side, Winrose Karunda finished second in the 5000 meters in an automatic qualifying time of 16:57.19. Loice Cheboi was eighth in the event with a preliminary time of 17: 13.09. Azraa Rounds clocked an automatic qualifying mark of 55.15 in the 400 meter prelims, while Keva Wilkins clocked a preliminary qualifying time of 55.96 in the event.

Grand Valley State University Open Grand Valleyâ€™s Ashley Jager won the 200 meters with a time of 26.77 for a preliminary qualifying time. Her teammate, Katherin McCarthy won the mile in a time of 4:58 clocking an automatic qualifying time. Teammate, Kelly Gibson, ran a preliminary qualifying time in the mile of 5:05.

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#20	Sarah_x February 21, 2008 at 3:09pm There are plenty of students who work hard, make great grades, and WANT to be at the school. BUT the school instead gives money to people who don't care, don't try, and generally throw their education away. The problem is with any of those people. It just happens to be that they are ATHLETES. Why do I say that? Because they are being paid to be here by sports, and it allows them to. Other students would then fail classes and be kicked out. Not all athletes that way and I think that that is what Cara was trying to point out. People that made AA should be given a lot more praise than they get, at least here. reply
#19	Pinkdiva February 20, 2008 at 4:03pm As a college student as well, I have noticed the percentage of students who show up to classes late are ATHLETES or are GREEKS. At my school the football players have a mentality that "I play football and allow the college to win at a sport that racks in the big bucks so these professors HAVE to pass me!" It is not fair to the others who are student athletes and go to class, excel at sports that get little to no recognition when they win, or those athletes trying to change the "athlete mentaily" of football players and those other athletes who think the same about their winning team. I think Cara was just trying to make a point that when a school has a winning football program that brings in the big bucks, the athletes think they have special priviledges. It isn't right and it isn't fair. Her XC team was All-American but somehow it was overlooked by her schools sports program. Excellent article Cara! Good Luck this season in your track adventures! reply
#18	Tony February 20, 2008 at 1:22pm To "mo money" and "Bagger". Football at the DII level does not make money. You can find the statistics online. only about HALF of DI-A programs even make money (as in profit) from the football teams. Football is exceedingly expensive at that level. Most DI-AA teams don't make profit either. Therefore, at smaller schools which have football, the most likely source of funding for the xc and track teams is the general athletic fund of the university. And since all the sports are likely draining that fund rather than filling it, the most likely source for the general athletic fund is the university's general funds - paid for by tuition and state dollars (if it's a state school). reply
#17	Bagger February 20, 2008 at 12:59pm I'm sure the compliance people and athletic admin folks at your school would LOVE to read the thoughts that you puclicly shared on this site reagarding student-athletes and recruits. I'm not sure if you are gutsy, foolish or both. You seem to stray pretty far from factual evidence after the basic figures necessary for being an NCAA qualifier. Do yourself and us a favor: don't editorialize without a strong base (grad rates, financial realities, etc.) and stick to running topics. Like it or not, football is always the front porch for an athletic department, if not for the institution as a whole. It won't pay to piss in your own bath water. reply
#16	Stephanie_x February 20, 2008 at 12:04pm I think it bothers her when those other people are not participating in class, but receive scholarship money to the school while there are others who pay thousands of dollars in tuition, study hard, attend class, etc. because they truly want to be there. College isn't for everyone. Its main objective should be to prepare you for a career. reply
#15	Joe_x February 20, 2008 at 11:30am however i do like the d2 updates on the track stuff. reply
#14	Joe_x February 20, 2008 at 11:25am stupid article. i think the more people given the oppurtunity to go to college the better. believe it or not, everyone isnt a genius and some people really struggle to get a 2.0. ive seen it in my high school, yet i still am very happy to hear that they end up going to college so they can do more with their lives. oh and when your in college other people not participating in class or even showing up shouldnt bother you a bit, thats pretty weird if it does reply
#13	Cara Hawkins February 19, 2008 at 11:22pm I suppose I did not veiw this as judgemental againist a group. I never tried to point out football specifically, I know many different athletes from all sports who are just as bad. If I was being judgemental towards any group, it was those who are not taking the opportunity they are offered. I really tried not to take an elitist point of view but rather just point out that there are some athletes who fully utilize the chance they have been given and others who do not. I am truly sorry if I offended anyone. reply
#12	Geronimo_x February 19, 2008 at 10:26pm Who's to say that the academically-unmotivated/struggling 2.0 football player coming out fo highschool still doesn't benefit from being offered higher education? Ideally, higher education should be offered to everyone, regardless of their academic standing or apparent interest. The whole idea of offering higher education is to DEVELOP interest and motivation, there's no requirement that the students have "A" (meaning a**hole) personalities initially. Another poster made a very relevant point regarding the discrepancy of funding between track and football. Football costs much more to organize and run (equipment, training facilites, etc.), and it also has much higher profits (game tickets, merchandise, etc., so obviously the amount of money going into and out of the sport will greatly outweigh that of track. Cara, you're coming off sounding elitist in this article (some could argue in favour of much harsher adjectives, but still along the lines of elitism). Difficult as it may be to write an editorial without insulting somebody, I would nevertheless advise you to avoid adopting a negative attitude (or any kind of judgemental attitude) toward any given group of people - be it a socio-economic group, an ethnic group, an athletic group, an academic group... whatever - as no good can come of it. reply
#11	Its Important February 19, 2008 at 9:02pm Cross country and track and feild use to have around 25 scholarships know we have 12.5, football took them all. There going to these kids who dont care about school. reply
#10	Stephanie Lowe February 19, 2008 at 7:02pm This reminds me of an athlete (guess which sport) that decided he'd major in fashion design because he thought it would be easy. While fitting a "skirt" onto a model, it dropped straight down to the floor because it was just a piece of fabric sewn together. reply
#9	Marty Monahan February 19, 2008 at 6:51pm Cara Cara Cara....you are mean sometimes. reply
#8	Choice.. February 19, 2008 at 8:27am I do believe the choice is what she is trying to point out. I think she is trying to point out more of the accomplishments of the athletes who do balance class and sport. reply
#7	Mo Money Mo Problems February 19, 2008 at 7:39am i feel bad if you think that students not participating in class "ruins" your college experience.... it happens everywhere, and its not always athletes. AND the money that they get usually comes from their program, you see football teams make money on tickets sales, apparel, and other items, where as XC doesn't make squat usually. I understand that there are those meathead football players, and XC people are usually the nerds, but thats the way it is. Get over the student athlete thing, its a choice to be successful or flunk out reply
#6	Running Only Fan February 19, 2008 at 1:32am I agree with Running Only. Who really cares and it's a bad observation. reply
#5	Steve Knox February 19, 2008 at 1:22am It does matter. Great post and observations! reply
#4	Adams ALUM February 19, 2008 at 12:38am It means: I went to Adams State and know everyone gets free grades. They make sure you get over a 3:00 GPA( not by working hard). reply
#3	Running Only February 19, 2008 at 12:36am Who cares, lets get back to "Running". This is a running website. reply
#2	Swifty February 19, 2008 at 12:33am Huh? What does that comment even mean? reply
#1	Adams ALUM February 19, 2008 at 12:31am Adams State is a joke!!!That school will pass anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! reply