1. Alabama

Nick Saban and his crew looks to have another team that can go all the way. Mark Ingram has a chance to repeat his Heisman campaign from last year and he should do so. This team has very few question marks and if they can stay out of injury trouble, expect them in the national championship.

2. Texas

Colt McCoy may be gone, but Mack Brown isn’t. Brown and his squad look to avenge last year’s loss to Saban’s Crimson Tide. Had McCoy not suffer that infamous shoulder injury in last year’s championship game, Texas could have taken the title. McCoy’s replacement, Garret Gilbert, looked shaky at the start his replacement gig last year but straightened out towards the end of the game. Expect big things from Gilbert who even though he will be without Jordan Shipley (now on the Bengals), should have a big year.

3. Florida.

Colt McCoy leaves and Texas is number two. Ok. But, Tim Tebow leaves and Florida is number three?! You got it. Tebow may be gone but Florida still has a solid core of a team together. Urban Meyer is up there with Saban and Brown and he’s done a great job of recruiting great talent. John Brantley will replace Tebow under center and will have the impossible task of replacing Tebow in UF fan’s hearts. There might be some growing pains from Brantley, but not enough to keep this team from National Championship contention.

4. Boise State

Everybody loves the underdog. And everybody loves Boise State. They, along with TCU, have been such a catalyst to the playoff system instead of the BCS. That chatter isn’t going away this season either. Boise State should put together a perfect season and boil up more and more complaints. They open up with a big game against Virginia Tech on the road. If they can grab a victory from that game, expect the momentum to push them through the entire way.

5. Ohio State

Ahhh. The Big 10 is finally back. Well, not completely, but expect one team to emerge in the running for a national championship. Ohio has the team to put the buckeyes back into relevance. They have a notable game in week 2 when they face Miami (FL). This will be their biggest test of the season as Miami has come back from the doldrums just like Ohio State.

Statement on concussions from the NFHS

The update on the concussion rule falls in line with similar changes made by the NFHS Board of Directors in the area of football.

According to NFHS rules adopted in 2010; officials are charged with removing any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

“Given that the vast majority of concussions do not include a loss of consciousness, but that athletes often show obvious evidence of concussion, the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) strongly believes that officials must continue to be empowered to remove these athletes from play, thus protecting them from further injury,” said Dr. Michael Koester, chair of the SMAC.

“Continued participation in any sport following a concussion can lead to worsening concussion symptoms, as well as increased risk for further injury to the brain and even death.”

The previous rule directed officials to remove an athlete from play if “unconscious or apparently unconscious.” The previous rule also allowed for return to play based on written authorization by a medical doctor.

FOOTBALL:

2010 Football Rules Revisions

1-5-2c: New football glove/hand pad standard implemented for the 2012 season.

1-5-3a: Restrictions removed on penalty-marker colored pads or gloves.

1-5-3b1, 2, Note 3: Illegal player equipment rule clarified.

3-1-2; 1-7: Point differential rule modified for member state associations.

3-2-2: Coin toss provisions revised.

3-5-10b: Concussion rule revised.

3-7-1: Replaced players – replacement timeframe clarified.

8-2-2; 8-2-3; 8-2-4 (NEW); 8-2-5; 10-4-5; 10-5-1f; 2-41-10: Penalty options for fouls on scoring plays expanded to include scoring team fouls.

9-4-3k: Horse-collar clarified.

9-4-8 (NEW): Penalty defined for unintentional contact between a nonplayer and an official in the restricted area.

Nine-, Eight- and Six-player Rules: Field markings in nine-, eight- and six-player rule differences adjusted.

BASEBALL

One of six new rules changes by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Baseball Rules Committee forbids the use of composite bats until they can meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard.

• Rule 1-3-2 through 5 was completely rewritten with the intention of creating a rule that preserves the intent and spirit of the old rule, but is better suited to products resulting from new technology. Under the new rule, bats with composite handles and tapers would still be legal. The stricter language applies primarily to the barrel of the bat.
• Rule 1-1-2 now requires coaches to list all known substitutes on the lineup card before the umpire accepts it. Coaches will still be able to add a substitute without a penalty, but this should speed up substitutions and player changes during the game.
• A change to Rule 2-16-2 was also made to clarify an existing rule and ease its application for coaches and players. The rule now reads: “A foul tip is a batted ball that goes directly to the catcher’s hands and is legally caught by the catcher. It is a strike and the ball is in play.”
• Similarly, a “last-time-by” rule has been instituted. The new rule states that if a runner correctly touches a base that was missed the last time he was by the base, that last touch corrects any previous base-running infraction. This last-time-by practice is commonly accepted, but is now legally Rule 8-2-6l.
• A change to Rule 1-5-8, all hard and unyielding items such as braces, casts, etc., must be padded with a closed-cell, slow-recovery foam padding no less than one-half-inch thick. Knee and ankle braces that are unaltered from the manufacturer’s original design/production do not require additional padding.
• new rule, 3-1-5, puts strict constraints on players who may have suffered a concussion. The rule states that any player who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, including but not limited to loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion of balance problems, must be removed from the contest immediately and shall not return to play before being cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

BASKETBALL

The changes cover sportsmanship, uniform standards, closely-guarded situations and perimeter play.

Rules 2-8-5; 3-3-8

• Changed the guidelines and procedures for identifying and removing a player who exhibits signs, symptoms and/or behaviors consistent with a concussion.

Rule 3-5-3a T

• The list of permissible headband and wristband colors was changed to include any single solid school color.

Rules 10-3-6i; 10-5-5

• Specific rules were added to address the unsporting acts of a player leaving the playing court for an unauthorized reason to demonstrate resentment, disgust or intimidation and team members leaving the bench area and/or playing court for an unauthorized reason.

2010-11 MAJOR EDITORIAL CHANGES

Rules 3-3-1a NOTE;  4-34-2

• Clarified that when a substitute is not properly reported, the players in the game at the conclusion of the quarter/when the time-out was granted shall begin play for the new quarter/after the time-out. During an intermission, all team members are bench personnel for the purpose of penalizing unsporting behavior.

Rule 3-4-2d

• Clarified that a school or conference logo/mascot may be located at the apex/opening of the neckline, in the corresponding area on the back of the jersey and/or in the either side insert.

Rule 3-5-2

• Clarified the requirements for guards, casts and braces and that a protective face mask shall be worn molded to the face.

Rule 6-1-2

• Clarified that the ball becomes live on a throw-in and a free throw when it is at the disposal of the player and the official begins the count.

Rule 7-6-6

• Clarified that when the ball is awarded to the wrong team, the mistake must be rectified before the throw-in ends.

WRESTLING

A revision in the appropriate dress for weigh-ins in high school wrestling was among four rules changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee at its April 5-7 meeting in Indianapolis. The changes, which were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors, will take effect with the 2010-11 season.

• Regarding weigh-ins, previously both male and female contestants had to weigh in wearing “no more than a suitable undergarment.” Beginning next year, specific language has been added regarding what constitutes a “suitable undergarment.” Male and female contestants will be required to wear a suitable undergarment that completely covers the buttocks and the groin area. In addition, for female contestants the suitable undergarment must also cover the breasts.
  • The committee also addressed the process for an offensive wrestler assuming a legal starting position. The following statement has been added to Rule 5-20-9:
    • “Once the offensive wrestler has assumed a legal starting position and is stationary, the referee shall verbally say ‘set’ and then pause momentarily before starting wrestling.”
    • “This rule change will eliminate either wrestler gaining an advantage by using a rolling start,” Colgate said. “It also eliminates the need for the offensive wrestler using a specific sequence when assuming a legal starting position, including the optional offensive starting position.”
    • any contestant who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion shall be removed immediately from the match and shall not return to competition until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.
    • added the “rear-standing, double-knee kickback” to the list of illegal maneuvers. Colgate said this maneuver, which is being used more frequently at the high school level, clearly puts the opposing wrestler in a dangerous situation and at a high risk for injury.

TRACK & FIELD

Rules changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Track and Field and Cross Country Rules Committee have more lenient penalties than in the past, including a team warning for the first jewelry violation when observed during competition. The changes, which were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors, will take effect with the 2010-11 school year.

• Jewelry is still prohibited in all track and field events under Rule 4-3-3, the first violation witnessed by an official will now result in a team warning. The observing official shall report to the meet referee, who will then notify the coach of the offending school. All subsequent violations will result in a disqualification of the athlete(s)/relay team from the event.
• Rules 4-3-3 and 9-6-7 were amended to allow additional means of hair control. Unadorned devices, such as bobby pins, barrettes and hair clips, no longer than two inches, may be worn to control a competitor’s hair. This rule was updated to reflect common practice in some states and achieve consistency throughout the rule’s application. These items for hair control are not considered dangerous for the contestant and are not considered jewelry or adornment.
• Other rules changes allow more leniencies in what is considered a foul, primarily in high jump and pole vault. Under Rule 7-2-12, if improperly fastened supports slip downward when a jumper hits the crossbar, it shall be ruled a no jump and the jumper will get another trial, regardless of the initial jump’s result.
• A note was added to Rule 7-5-29a that if a crossbar and/or uprights are placed incorrectly by the contest officials and the crossbar is displaced by the competitor, the trial is not recorded and the competitor receives an additional trial.
• Rule 7-5-16 has been deleted and replaced with new guidelines for the warm-up of pole vault competitors who have passed three consecutive heights and not entered the competition. Those competitors are now allowed two minutes of warm-up jumps per competitor entering at that height. These competitors often sit out long enough that a proper warm-up is in order. Such a warm-up wasn’t being provided by the old rule that allowed only one warm-up jump.
• Rules 7-4-11 and 7-5-18 have been modified to clarify protocol when there is only one competitor left in a vertical jump competition. Only after that person has been determined the event winner may he or she determine successive heights of the crossbar.
  • A significant editorial change that will affect all sports requires that any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, including but not limited to loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, must be removed from the contest immediately and shall not return to play before being cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.
  • In addition, Rule 4-4-1 was added, stating that if a hard or unyielding item, such as a guard, cast, etc., is worn, it is up to the referee to determine if padding is required. Such padding shall be closed-cell, slow-recovery foam no less than one-half-inch thick. Unaltered knee and ankle braces do not require any additional padding.
  • Rule 4-4-2 clarifies the use of prosthetics in track and field. Each state association may authorize the use of a prosthesis, which in its opinion, is no more dangerous to competitors and/or equipment than the corresponding human body part(s) and does not place an opponent at a disadvantage.
  • New to the rules book but commonly practiced, a letter of authorization shall be provided by the state association for any modifications to uniforms or equipment due to medical or religious reasons. The letter shall be made available to the meet referee prior to the beginning of competition.
  • Rule 3-3-1 identifies the meet director as the official representative of host meet management; 3-3-2 makes that person responsible for handling unsporting conduct by spectators and other matters outside of competition rules.

DIVING

Many of the diving changes were administrative, such as an amendment to rule 9 stating that both coaches and swimmers must sign off on the dive sheets to ensure that the diver is in fact capable of completing the dives. This help responsible coaches keep their divers from sneaking in dives that they do not have the skill to complete, which can be dangerous.

• A new rule, 9-7-4d states that a diver must at least attempt to come out of a twist for a dive to be considered successful.
• Rule 9-7-5g takes this a step further by stating that a diver’s twisting must be within 90 degrees of what is listed on the score sheet, based on where the diver’s shoulders are when the diver’s hands or feet touch the water.
• Rule 9-7-5h also deals with twisting, and says that a diver’s shoulders cannot rotate more than 90 degrees before the diver leaves the board. The final ruling regarding diving was that a diver will receive a half-point to two-point deduction for failing to stop the oscillating of the board immediately before or after the starting position is taken (Rule 9-8-2a).
• The biggest rules change that pertains to swimming was an official declaration on “kinesio” tape that has been a growing trend throughout sports.
  • The NFHS decided to outlaw the tape, classifying the tape as a “device…worn to compress any part of the body to aid in speed…”
  • 3-3-2b(2)- Clarifies that suits worn in competition must be 100% permeable to air and water, except for the school’s logo, which is allowed to cover no more than a 9 square inch area.
  • 3-3-1 – Puts in writing that which had been the in-practice ruling that the FINA logo which adorns many suits, indicating that they conform to FINA suit standards, is not considered advertising and thus does not count towards the rules limiting suits to a single brand logo.
  • 8-3-8b – An expansion to the rule made last year, declaring that a leadoff relay split is nullified if a relay is disqualified for a conduct rule. In addition, if the relay is disqualified for an entry rule violation, such as a swimmer entered in too many events, the leadoff time is nullified.

The volleyball team went to a different type of court that they’re not used to in order to remain a team. The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut helped the players in their case and proved that cheerleading is in fact, not a sport.

Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX. Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.

U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill

In order for sports to be considered as a viable sport they must adhere to certain guidelines. It must have practices, games and a set season with an over looking organization that provides rules and guidelines to the sport. Since cheerleading’s main purpose wasn’t competition since they support other athletic events, the Judge refused to allow it under Title 9.

Also found during the case was that Quinnipiac improperly manipulated with men’s and women’s rosters. They would drop men athletes and add women athletes to overstate the chances for female athletes. The school responded that any of said manipulation had ceased, basically admitting that it had been an issue.

So, what do you think? Should cheerleading be a sport? What does it have to give up in order to become one and at what cost?

Reaching the Junior Olympics in volleyball is the ultimate goal of the extensive, demanding season. You can only reach this tournament if you have either won a national qualifier or your regional qualifier. In the case of JJVA 17’s, we won a national qualifier! This means that we placed 1st out of 114 teams from all over, including a team from Hawaii. After this exciting win in early April, it was back to practice, five days a week typically lasting at least two hours. Although everyone was pumped about this huge win it meant three more months of practice. Somehow we managed to make it through and the day finally came to head down to Miami, the location of the national tournament this year.

When you enter the convention center where they have hundreds of courts set up it is overwhelming, just thinking about how in this hall there is the best of the best! These are the teams just like us who have had awesome seasons and have had huge wins to get here. Luckily, I had been in this situation before when I was fifteen so I was not really nervous, more excited to play because this is what we had been striving towards all season! The only thing that got to my nerves was all the college coaches walking around watching the games. The best thing to do for me is to just focus on my game and not look around to see who is watching. Most of the times this improved my game and made me play even harder, except for when the Tennessee coaches, in their bright orange jackets, would come by our court. It has been my dream since I was a kid to go there and play volleyball, even though the reality is I am too short and that they have most likely already finished there recruiting for my year yet it still makes me nervous.

Unfortunately, the first day was not as exciting as I had hoped for, we only won one match out of three and I was stuck playing a different position than I had hoped. The second day was the same we did not play very well and sadly did not win any games. Unfortunately, it took us the first two days to click and figure out the competition because the third day we came out on fire. We had a slow start almost losing our first match of the day, but in a close third game we came back from 12-5 to win 19-17! This win was critical for our team and put us back in the winning mindset. Narrowly winning the second match moved us on to play a challenge match, which was by far my greatest memory of the whole tournament. This was our third match in a row, and because things sometimes run so behind our game started around 11 PM at night. Ravenous and incredibly tired, we had to push on.

Our competition, Sudden Impact Volleyball, was from Issaquah, WA and some would say they had the advantage because they had been waiting for our match to finish, therefore having time to rest and scout us a little, see what defense we run etc… But we were fresh from a win and warm from our previous game. Although really energized we lost the first five points on silly mistakes. We could tell this was going to be a tough match. Every ball we hit there was a huge block or a passer picking it up. After an early time out and a new rotation we were back in the game. After a few serves we were unstoppable. At one point we blocked the ball three times in a row, mentally shutting down their outside hitter and on the fourth block, in the same rally, we won the point. That point was the turning point of the game, from then on we took the lead, continuing to shut down their hitters and pick up their tips, winning the game 25-19. That was only the first game though meaning we had to come out even stronger the second game because we knew Sudden Impact would not go down without a fight. In the second game they did come out strong, but not enough to stop our streak. With some killer serves, unstoppable kills, and amazing digs we beat Sudden Impact 25-22. Exhausted after such a great day, we packed up our stuff ready to go back to the hotel when we looked at the clock and it was 12:01. The next day we ended up losing our first match, but all in all we were proud of what we had accomplished this unforgettable season, placing 27^th in the nation.

Pretend for a second that you have been coaching for 22 years, have won 14 Ivy league championships, 6 National championships and produced countless All-Americans.  What are you thinking about?  Retirement…your incoming stacked recruiting class, the beach???  Not Bill Tierney.  He decided to move across the country and leave the comforts of Princeton University to coach at Denver University.  That’s quite a big move for such an established college coach.  Think of it as Mike Krzyzewski leaving Duke to coach at Seattle University or Joe Paterno leaving Penn State to coach at UNLV.  Tierney is a coaching legend in the lacrosse community and has built a powerhouse program from scratch.  How can he leave?  Listen to the Podcast below to find out.  It makes complete sense for him and we wish him the best of luck.

Saturday night featured an outstanding game between two of the nation’s top 10 teams. Both the Texas Longhorns and the Red Raiders of Texas Tech came into the contest with undefeated records. By the end of the evening, one team would no longer be perfect…

Coming into the game, many analysts and experts believed that the high-powered Texas Tech offense, led by Quarterback Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, would be shut down by the stingy Texas Longhorns’ defense. All of these expert predictions, though, went out the window when Texas Tech scored 39 points, leading to a 6 point victory over the nation’s top team. The way that the game ended was more than entertaining to say the least.

Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy, who struggled throughout the first half of the game, picked apart the Red Raider defense during a late fourth quarter drive. When the drive ended, with a 4-yard TD run by running back Vondrell McGee, Texas found themselves on the upside of a 33-32 lead, clinging to a one point lead. The Longhorns left Harrell 1:32 seconds to conduct a drive that was nothing short of a miracle considering the fact that Texas Tech had only 1 timeout.

Harrell effeciently took what the Longhorn defense gave him and moved his team into field goal range. With just 8 seconds and still a timeout remaining, most teams would center the ball to the middle of the field, take their timeout and kick the last second field goal. That just wouldn’t fit into the script for Head Coach Mike Leach and his high-powered offense. Graham Harrell remained on the field with the offense. When he took the snap and looked downfield, I was confused.

By the end of the play, Harrell had connected on a 28 yard touchdown pass to arguably the nation’s best receiver Michael Crabtree. With just one second remaining on the clock, the student body of the Red Raiders swarmed the field. The team was issued a series of 15-yard penalties that resulted in a kickoff from their own 7 1/2 yard line.

After the kick and a few lateral passes the second that seemed like another hour to the Tech fans had run off the clock and the number one team in the nation had been dethroned. This victory will without a doubt cause a shake-up in the BCS polls and it should be interesting to see where each top team falls this week.

This past weekend could arguably be called one of the craziest in regards to college football. Three out of the top five teams in the nation were upset this weekend, causing constant changes to the AP Polls. These changes brought in new colleges who were previously unranked and also knocked ranked teams out of the top 25.

The first upset of the weekend came on Thursday night when the #1 team in the nation, The USC Trojans, was upset by their conference opponent Oregon State Beavers. Although USC mounted a 2^nd half comeback, an early 21-0 lead capped by a Jacquizz Rodgers 2-yard touchdown run in the final quarter proved to be too much for Coach Pete Carroll and his team to overcome. With the loss USC drops to 2-1 on the year and fell 8 spots in the AP Polls to #9.

The final two upsets came from arguably the strongest conference in college football, the SEC. In an absolute battle between two ranked teams, the Crimson Tide of Alabama jolted out to a 31-0 lead in the first half over the nation’s #3 team, the Georgia Bulldogs. Although the Bulldogs fought their way back into the game, outscoring Alabama 30-10 in the second half, the early lead and stifling 1^st half defense was too large of a lead to overcome. With the loss Georgia fell from #3 to #11 and dropped to 4-1 on the year.

When Ole Miss took the a late lead over #4 ranked Florida on an 86-yard touchdown from Jevan Snead to speedy receiver Shay Hodge, I’m sure they knew they were in good position for an upset. However, they forgot Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was taking the snaps on the other side for Florida. As Tebow lead his team on a late 4^th quarter touchdown drive, the game was just a one point difference at 31-30. The ensuing extra point, though, was blocked by some great hustle and special teams play by the Rebels.

Three national powerhouses could’ve easily lost a BCS bid for this year. For the new teams in the poll, however, their hopes remain. After all the changes to the polls the newest AP Top 10 poll looks like this:

1. Oklahoma 4-0

2. Alabama 5-0

3. LSU 4-0

4. Missouri 4-0

5. Texas 4-0

6. Penn State 5-0

7. Texas Tech 4-0

8. BYU 4-0

9. USC 2-1

10. South Florida 5-0

Bill Pennington’s story makes all the issues come alive:

“As a high school senior, she had been thrilled to receive a $19,000 athletic scholarship to play field hockey at Villanova, a select, private institution near Philadelphia. But she had not counted on the 7 a.m. start of every class day, something required so she could be in the locker room by noon to prepare for a four-hour shift of afternoon practices and weight-lifting sessions. Travel to games forced her to miss exams and classes. There were also mandatory team meetings, study halls and weekend practices.

She was overwhelmed.”

What Stephanie Campbell – and so many other student athletes – discovered was that something had to give. In her case, it was about recognizing the business end of school sports. Stephanie’s mom, Kathleen, helped her daughter figure it out:

“So Kathleen Campbell sat her daughter down, waited for a break in the sobs and said: “Villanova costs more than $40,000 a year to attend. They’re paying you $19,000 to play field hockey. At your age, there is no one out there anywhere who is going to pay you that kind of money to do anything. And that’s how you have to look at this: It’s a job, but it’s a great job.”

Campbell, 22, kept at it all four years, serving as a team captain last fall while majoring in marketing. She is expected to graduate this spring.

“I’m missing the sport terribly already,” she said last month. “But it was a ton of work. Receiving an athletic scholarship is a wonderful thing, but most of us only know what we’re getting, not what we’re getting into.”

Campbell made it work but a lot of student athletes don’t. You can get a sense of the problem by looking at the data the NCAA assembles on the Academic Progress Rate (APR), and the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) at colleges and universities across the country.

According to the NCAA :

“The APR provides a real-time “snapshot” of a team’s academic success each semester by looking at current academic progress of every student-athlete.
The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation as factors in the rate calculation and provides a much clearer picture of the current academic culture in each sport.
The GSR looks back at historical academic success by measuring graduation of all student-athletes, including transfer students and students who leave campus in good academic standing.

Each Division I sports team receives an APR score. An APR of 925 (out of 1,000) equals roughly a 60 percent Graduation Success Rate.”

Remember only about 60% of student athletes graduate within 6 years.

The importance of student athletes receiving a good education – and the issue of graduation rates – becomes especially clear when you examine how many or few student athletes make the transition to professional sports. Of course, playing professional sports is a dream of so many student athletes – but how often does the dream come true?

Here are some sports and the statistics:
Men’s Basketball – 1.2%
Women’s Basketball – 1.0%
Football – 1.8%
Baseball – 9.4%
Men’s Ice Hockey – 3.7%
Men’s Soccer – 1.7%

Here’s a look at the 1997- 2000 NCAA graduation success rates (and federal statistics) at two representative schools:

You can data for all schools on the NCAA website.

One last note: college is a challenge for all students, not just student athletes. The NCAA is quick to point out that in general, student athletes do slightly better than non-student athletes when it comes to graduating. And they believe their new statistical analysis is more accurate and illuminating than the federal graduation statistics.

The NCAA notes that:

63 percent of Division I student-athletes who began college as freshmen in 2000 graduated within six years, compared to 62 percent of students at Division I institutions, according to the federal data.

In particular, African-American student-athletes are graduating at a rate seven points higher than African-American students in general (53 percent to 46 percent). African-American male student-athletes are graduating at a rate 10 points higher than African-American male students, 49 percent to 39 percent.

White student-athletes graduate three points higher than their student body peers, at 67 percent to 64 percent. This is due in part to the fact that the graduation rate for white female student-athletes is seven points higher than white female students (74 percent to 66 percent).

So I guess the best advice anyone can give is, study hard, play well, and do your best to graduate!

Student athletes and their families have always known it is not easy balancing the demands of performing at a high level in collegiate sports while keeping up with one’s grades.

To begin with, student athletes must meet the following NCAA requirements to participate in sports and/or receive an athletics scholarship during their first year:

Graduate from high school; Complete these 14 core courses:

- 4 years of English

- 2 years of math (algebra 1 or higher)

- 2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by your high school)

- 1 extra year of English, math or natural or physical science

- 2 years of social science

- 3 years of extra core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy);  

Earn a minimum required grade-point average in your core courses; and

Earn a combined SAT or ACT sum score that matches your core course grade-point average on the NCAA test score sliding scale … for example, a 2.400 core-course grade-point average needs an 860 SAT).

Student athletes who meet these requirements can practice or compete for their college or university during their first year of college; can receive an athletics scholarship during their first year of college; and can play four seasons in their sport if they maintain their eligibility from year to year.

There are now more than 400,000 students athletes in the United States and the numbers climb each year.

The NCAA is increasingly aware of the stress and challenges student athletes face.  From May 25-29, they’ll be hosting a conference in Orlando, FL for more than 700 student-athletes to discuss issues that affect them on their campuses and in their communities.  The conference which used to be called the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference is now known as the Development Conference.

According to Robert Vowels, vice-president of education services at the NCAA:

the conference will help student-athletes find their voice to shape their future and make a commitment to lead on campus and in the community.

“With the new focus of the Development Conference, we’ll also place more emphasis on enhancing the leadership skills of the student-athletes, which not only helps them in their academic and athletic setting, but also better prepares them for life experiences after they graduate,” said Vowels.

Student-athletes will discuss topics such as game environment, gender equity, religion in sport, social networking, EKG testing, mental health and nutrition. They will also discuss division-specific issues, create dialogue surrounding possible solutions to division-specific issues and discuss potential career direction.  

 

As student athletes gather in Orlando, it might be helpful to put the problems facing college sports in perspective. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor highlights some alarming trends: “College sports programs lose money and fail to educate their athletes.”

Problem One: colleges are spending an enormous amount of money on sports. You might ask if this money could be better spent on purely educational programs. According to the Monitor:

One NCAA report on revenues and expenses of big-time athletic programs (Division I) for the first time shows that high-profile athletics are, on balance, a money-losing proposition. In other words, they’re a significant drain on these educational institutions.

While sports expenses at these schools rose 23 percent from 2004 to 2006, revenues (ticket sales, etc.) expanded only 16 percent. Just 17 of the 300-plus sports programs made a profit. All but one of those were among a few high-profile schools that regularly go to bowl games.

What’s more, schools subsidize about a quarter of their athletics. For the non-bowl-eligible, lower-profile schools, their budgets were 70 percent subsidized.

Just how “big-time” is college sports? The report didn’t name names, but it did say one school spent more than $101 million on its sports programs in fiscal 2006.

Problem Two: Student athletes aren’t doing as well in the classroom as they are on the field. According to the Monitor:

A second NCAA study asks how athletes perform in the classroom, even as the NCAA stiffens its penalties for schools that fail to meet a minimum standard. That standard, called an Academic Progress Rate (APR), takes into account athletes’ grades and graduation rates.

The NCAA’s report shows that only about 60 percent of athletes at the nation’s Division I schools graduate within six years. Among high-profile, revenue-producing sports programs, about 2 out of 5 schools had basketball teams that ranked below the APR threshold, and about 1 of 3 baseball and football teams failed to make that minimum standard.

I put a picture of Candace Parker up above because she is a shining example of the successful student athlete. She is an extraordinary basketball player who led her Tennessee team to the 2007 NCAA championship. But, even better, Parker earned a 3.35 grade-point average in sports management.

In the weeks to come, we’ll be blogging about the challenges and successes of the student athlete. Join in and check back often.