Members of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board convened Friday afternoon to update their alcohol policies for student-athletes and to weigh grade requirements for recruitment.
UW Athletic Board member Sheila McGuirk shared the updated guidelines for scouting student-athletes, saying by 2016 scouts must be looking at a 2.3 minimum incoming GPA from recruits.
McGuirk said there is also discussion about addressing reading scores more strictly because that seems to be the biggest difficulty of those athletes coming in without a 2.3 minimum GPA.
Athletic Board members Barb Simons and Norman Fost also referenced a vote to endorse and support draft changes to the UW drug-testing policy of student-athletes. Alcohol was added as one of the major policy changes.
“The addition of alcohol is important because it’s the most common drug that gets students in trouble,” Fost said. “It guarantees that there will be repercussions.”
Regina Millner, a member of the UW Athletic Board whose term expires this year, congratulated the members of the board for treating the athletes as students and being concerned about their career paths and opportunities beyond collegiate sports, commending it as “something to be proud of.”
Among many issues, parking transactions were also a large point of contention at the meeting. UW Athletic Department Chair Dale Bjorling denied accusations the UW Athletic Department is withholding money that should have been distributed to the parking administration.
Bjorling said parking is projected to increase by 10 percent annually for the next six years.
In light of such price increases, many season ticket holders have been expressing their complaints with the UW Athletic Department, Bjorling said.
However, Bjorling clarified these changes are not in the Athletic Department’s power.
The board also addressed the future of student-athletes, concerning both draft and alcohol policies.
The meeting also honored UW men and women’s swimming coach Whitney Hite for his successes as head coach this year.
“What I’m most proud of is that I consider myself a teacher. I’m able to teach young men and women the necessary skills to be better equipped for the real world,” Hite said. “The easiest part of my job is to get them to swim faster.”
Bjorling also announced he will be meeting with incoming UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank to help familiarize her with the UW Athletic Board, discussing the roles of student-athletes on campus and the Athletic Board’s goals in general.
