Some faculty members have challenged the need for an academic center exclusively for student athletes, but athletics officials argue they need more space to help student athletes achieve good grades.
Some faculty members have challenged the need for an academic center exclusively for student athletes, but athletics officials argue they need more space to help student athletes achieve good grades.
The students competing in Ohio University’s two top-billed sports teams (Men’s Basketball and Football) perform the worst academically among all OU athletes, according to their scores with NCAA, which sets academic standards for student athletes.
The NCAA considers a team’s academic progress rate — or APR — which measures eligibility and retention of athletes on each team.
OU’s football team barely met those standards — at least it did two years ago, the most recent data available when it scored a 941 out of 1,000, in the 2012-13 academic year.
An average score of 930 would keep the team from participating in championships.
There are three other teams below a score of 970, which OU has highlighted as a benchmark 12 of its 16 athletics teams have met.
Men’s Basketball scored a rate of 951, the baseball team scored a 955 and Women’s Basketball a rate of 969.
The average APR of OU athletes was 983 during the 2012-13 academic year.
To compete in a sport, NCAA requires students to:
Have at least a 1.8 GPA (slightly above a C- average) by the beginning of sophomore year
Have at least a 2.0 GPA upon graduation
Of OU’s student-athletes who meet NCAA eligibility requirements, 93 percent graduate.
“The athletic department has had an academic center to assist student-athletes for the past 25 years,” said Jim Schaus, director of Ohio Athletics, in an email. “The primary reason is that there are unique academic requirements which the NCAA places on all student-athletes to be eligible for competition.”
The APR for OU’s football team ranked it at 88 out of 128 among Division I schools.
The University of Toledo, the highest-rated Mid-American Conference football team, was ranked 20 of the 128 Division I schools.
Seven out of 13 MAC schools perform better academically than OU’s football team, according to the APR.
“A new academic center would immediately assist in two major areas,” said Head Football Coach Frank Solich. “First, it would allow us to recruit a better student-athlete. Second, if we create a spacious, modern and comfortable environment, we would have a place in which our student athletes would want to be.”
The Sook Center would be in addition to the Joan and Wallace Phillips Center, 4,500 square feet of space in Peden Stadium’s tower where 440 student athletes can work every year.
The new Sook Center will have nine tutoring rooms and a 30-seat classroom as opposed to the 10 tutoring rooms and a 42-seat classroom in the Phillips Center.
Only academic employees of Ohio Athletics will work in the center; Schaus would not say specifically who was consulted while the plans for the center were being drawn up. Ohio Athletics did not answer all Post questions regarding the center.
“All student athletes go to the current center for academic help,” Joey Duckworth, a freshman football player, said.
“When everyone is in there, it’s very cramped,” he said. “People are sitting in the hallways. It’s all spread out.”
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