After about a year of debate surrounding an academic center exclusively for student-athletes at Ohio University, the Perry and Sandy Sook Athletic Academic Center will open to the public this weekend.
The Sook Athletic Academic Center is located in Peden Stadium and gives student-athletes the ability to have a place on campus to study with tutors. The building provides an instructional space and computer labs for athletes, according to a university news release.
Numerous professors opposed the center even before it was built.
Some faculty members believe that the money should have been donated for teaching and research at the university, Loren Lybarger, president of the OU chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP), said. Now that the center has been constructed, they believe that the center’s staff should be under academic control instead of athletic control.
The construction budget of the facility was approximately $7 million. The lead gift was provided by Perry and Sandy Sook, who donated $2.40 million. There were 411 donors for the center’s funding, which donated a cumulative $6.25 million, University Spokeswoman Carly Leatherwood said.
The athletic department agreed upon $65,000 annually for the upkeep of the center with the university, Jim Schaus, OU’s athletic director, said. That money will be taken out of the athletic department budget for maintenance and repairs.
The athletic department has tutors that meet with athletes for their study hall requirements as well as advising.
“We really have a staff that is very engaged in communicating without coaches about where (the students) are academically,” Schaus said.
A study space
First-year student-athletes are required to take part in eight hours of study hall every week. The old location for the study hall nights, which was on the fourth floor of Peden Tower, was crowded. This is where student-athletes are able to study, complete homework and work with tutors.
“If they have strong academics they can work their way out of that requirement, but if they still need it, they require weekly care,” Schaus said.
On study hall nights, Schaus said that it was common to have up to 160 people in the old center. Schaus said that coaches, athletes and staff complained about the lack of room.
“It’s an incredible increase in what we can do academically with regards to study space, all the different study rooms for tutors,” Deane Webb, the head coach of volleyball, said.
Katie Nelson, a senior studying pre-specialized studies and volleyball player, said that while it is a fantastic facility, she will not use it because once she was exempt from study hall, she didn’t want to return.
“I know the academic needs for athletes can be quite acute at times, but my issue is not so much with building the center,” David Ridpath, an associate professor of sports administration, said. “I will say that it is never good to completely silo college athletes away from the general university community.”
Ridpath is a member of OU’s chapter of AAUP, the group that initially opposed the construction of the Sook Academic Athletic Center.
Lybarger said that there are three reasons why they are concerned about the center.
The primary reason is because the AAUP wants to see the advising of the student-athletes moved under control of formal academic supervision and control.
“We opposed the building of the center because we felt that donor monies would be better used in supporting the core teaching and research mission of the university. Athletics is not part of this core mission,” Lybarger said in an email.
The organization also believes that it is not healthy to isolate athletes from the general student community.
On Oct 17, 2017, the OU’s AAUP chapter presented a paper to OU President Duane Nellis, then-interim Vice President and Provost David Descutner, Schaus, Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Chair Heather Lawrence, and faculty athletic representatives Ann Gabriel and Bob Colvin, explaining why they believed that Sook Center should be in control of the academic side of the school.
“Professors formally requests of President Nellis and Interim Provost Descutner that the supervision, financing, management, and control of the soon-to-be finished Sook Center cease to remain under the control of the athletic department in any way,” the position statement reads. “Instead, we recommend structuring the center as an auxiliary service under the direct supervision of an academic office.”
The OU AAUP has received support from multiple organizations which agree with their statement, including the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the Drake Group and the American Council on Education.
Ridpath said he wants to see the university take a proactive risk management approach to the situation. He believes that keeping the academics of the athletes separated from the athletic department will help keep the staff members free from any conflicts of interests that could arise from the situation. He said that if the change is made, the athletes wouldn’t notice it at all.
One of the points Ridpath mentioned was that the university athletics have been complying with NCAA rules as well as avoiding any violations.
“If there ever is a scandal here — and we can never think that we are immune, even at OU — the first move that will be made is to move academic support under the supervision and control under an academic entity,” Ridpath said.
Despite the lack of academic control, Ridpath still believes that there is still an opportunity for change. Ridpath said that because there is a new provost, it is something that AAUP will revisit.
A game-day space
With the construction of the Sook Center, there are several different spaces that have been introduced to the stadium that helps with game-day environments.
On the patio of the center, there is a new space for concessions, which features Jackie O’s beer, pretzels, hotdogs and other concessions. The patio also allows for more handicap and family-accessible restrooms, according to Ohio University athletics.
There is also a new merchandise store and ticket offices on the patio. The ticket offices allow fans to enter the stadium on either side so it is not as long of a walk.
With the introduction of the Sook Athletic Academic Center, Ohio Bobcat Club captain members, who are required to donate $900 annually, have access to the center to watch games. The area also features an exclusive terrace to watch the game.
