New academic standards for student athletes adopted Thursday are tougher, but members of University of Wisconsin Athletics say the new changes will have little effect on their athletes.
The measure, adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I Board of Directors, mandates eligibility to participate in postseason competition is contingent on a certain level of academic performance, according to NCAA President Mark Emmert.
“[These measures create] incentives for all athletic departments to make sure that they’re doing the right things by their student athletes in terms of their education and their graduation rates,” Emmert said.
Emmert also noted the measures are intended to “make certain that student [athletes] are going to be students who happen to be athletes, not the other way around.”
The measure requires teams to maintain a minimum 930 Academic Progress Rate for participation in postseason competition, which is roughly a 50 percent graduation success rate, Emmert said.
New measures will begin phasing in during the 2012-13 school year, he added. Soon afterward, for the 2014-15 school year, teams that don’t achieve a 930 APR will be ineligible for postseason participation, he said.
The D1 board also passed a proposal increasing initial eligibility standards for incoming freshmen and transfer students. Under the proposal, immediate access for freshmen to competition is a 2.3 GPA and 2.5 for transfers, Emmert said.
“The change in GPA would not have a great effect on Wisconsin athletics, because, historically, we have very few junior college transfers, and the vast majority of our entering student athletes have higher GPAs than the proposed minimum,” University of Wisconsin Athletic Board Chair Dale Bjorling said.
Furthermore, the board also adopted a new three-level penalty structure. The first level reduces the allowed number of practice hours a week from 20 to 16, with four hours to be used for academic activities, Bjorling said.
The second level adds to the first in competition reduction, Bjorling added. The third level entails several penalty options like coaching suspensions, financial aid reductions and restricted NCAA membership.
“I think the three-tiered system is a reasonable way to start,” said Athletic Board Chair Dale Bjorling. “With anything of this sort, you have to see how this is actually applied before you can accurately judge.”
Under the new 930 APR, 17 teams in the FBS, 37 teams in the FCS and 99 teams in men’s basketball would be subject to penalties, Emmert said.
However, he said Wisconsin teams will not be subject to these measures, as all UW teams are above the 930 APR.
“Changes in APR requirements would have no affect on individual student athletes that hold the scholarship, but could affect the number of scholarships an institution is able to offer if this becomes one of the penalties for falling below the minimal APR,” Bjorling said.
Under the new measures, athletes can receive additional scholarship funds of up to the institution’s full cost of attendance or $2,000, whichever is less, Bjorling said.
“I strongly support measures that strengthen academic support for student athletes,” Bjorling said. “A very small percentage will actually make their living in an athletic-related field, and I believe the schools have an obligation to support their academic progress through graduation to give them the knowledge and skills to succeed in life, regardless of their career.”
