Athletics and Academics
Utah State University assistant athletic director Brian Evans helps student athletes reach the ultimate goal for those who come to Utah State – getting a degree.
“It’s a discipline,” he said. “They [student athletes] are disciplined in their sport and they become disciplined in their academics as well.”
Evans, who deals with the academics and eligibility of student athletes, said what student athletes do in their sport consumes a lot of time and energy.
“They have to pass 12 hours a semester, 24 hours every year,” Evans said. “Starting at different times in their collegiate career they need to meet certain percentages of completing their degree.”
Student athletes must be enrolled in and maintain 12 credit hours at all times, Evans said.
“If they drop below that they are automatically ineligible to practice and compete,” he said.
Evans said this does not happen often, especially not at Utah State.
To ensure athletes are academically eligible to participate in their sport, the university has a few checks and balances in place.
“We get a 12-hour report from the computer center that tells us how many credit hours on a weekly basis our student athletes are enrolled in,” Evans said.
There is also a hold on the student record system which only the university can take off student athletes, Evans said.
“There is no way they [student athletes] can drop a class without removing that hold first,” he said.
Due to their strict time restraints and commitments, student athletes are granted priority registration.
“Typically they start meetings or practices around 1:30 p.m. and then they finish up anywhere from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.,” Evans said. “We like to have them in and out of class by no later than 1 p.m. or 1:15 p.m.”
Along with priority registration, a study hall is also available to help students maintain the necessary grade point average.
“All new incoming freshmen and transfer student athletes are required to put in a certain number of study hall hours a week,” Evans said. “We have a bottom line of a 2.5 GPA. Any returning students with less than a 2.5 GPA are also required to be in study hall.”
Coaches can add to the needed GPA and hours of study hall required, he said.
“If you have 2.49 [GPA] you’re in study hall,” said senior broadcast journalism major Tony Newson. “Right now, I only have three hours of study hall because my GPA is not really low. Three hours a week I come in here and do what I’ve got to do. Usually I’m in more than three hours because I have a lot of homework and projects. It’s not that bad. I got used to it.”
Newson is a linebacker on the USU football team.
Other athletes find study hall more time consuming than productive, though.
“I like it when I have things I have to do,” said freshman family and consumer science major Stephanie Bierwolf. “I usually don’t have six hours worth of homework, though.”
Bierwolf is a member of the women’s cross country team.
“They give us more opportunities [than other students] to get help with our academics,” Bierwolf said.
Evans said the student athletes should always have some sort of work to do at study hall because of the 2-1 ratio they spend doing their sport compared to classes.
“If they don’t have anything to do the monitor tells them they have to come visit with me first thing the next day and show me that they have nothing to do,” Evans said. “The rule of thumb is for every hour you spend in class you should spend two hours outside of class studying if you want to achieve an A in that class.”
Study hall is available to the student athletes four times a week and is held in Old Main. It consists of three parts; a large quiet room to read and do homework, a computer lab to write papers and a tutoring area.
“We have two monitors up there,” Evans said. “They are constantly checking to make sure they are doing academic work.”
The stricter academic requirements on student athletes has primarily come into effect since the 1990s, Evans said.
“Graduation rates were not good among student athletes and the membership in the NCAA decided that more stringent standards needed to be in place to assure that athletes progressed toward a degree instead of taking a bunch of credits each semester that really don’t mean anything,” he said.
Not only is this good for the student athletes who are helped as they progress toward a degree, but it is good for the university and future athletes looking at coming to the university as well.
“The coaches want their student athletes to graduate,” Evans said. “That is a big recruitment tool to say we graduate ‘X’ amount of student athletes. The coaches recruit students who want their degree. That is one thing we really emphasize. Once you get your degree that is something that can never be taken away from you.”
Newson knows this. He said he has almost been kicked out of USU twice because of academic probation and turned his GPA from a 1.3 to graduating.
“Graduating on time is like a miracle to me and my family,” Newson said.
Newson learned to be more focused and not to mess around like when he was a freshman.
“During the regular season you really don’t take too much of a load, maybe one or two hard classes,” Newson said. “During the off season you take like four or five hard classes.”
Evans said he has talked to several students, similar to Newson, who are glad there are specific requirements in place to ensure progress toward their degrees.
“I haven’t heard any complaints in the last several years simply because they know they have to do it,” Evans said. “They just can’t take basket weaving and pottery classes.”
Although physical talent is a necessity in collegiate athletics, Evans said it is not the only important thing.
“You can’t just have physical talent, you have to have the mental talent as well,” he said. “I think if you have smart student athletes you are going to have smart athletes.”
Newson agrees.
“I never take my homework with me on the road,” he said. “When I’m on the road it’s all about football. There is so much to study about football just to be ready for game day.”
Evans said the athletes are expected to still maintain a study hall situation while they are on the road but has heard students say they cannot read on a plane or in a car.
“They are very much encouraged to study when they are on road trips,” Evans said.
Bierwolf doesn’t have any problems studying while traveling.
“We’re always sitting there doing homework,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard because you have so much to do. It’s hard to keep up on top of things because you fall behind.”
The more stringent requirements have helped improve the graduation rate and overall academics of USU student athletes, Evans said.
The Whitesides Scholar-Athlete luncheon, requiring student athletes to have a 3.2 cumulative GPA and higher, is an example of the academic improvement in athletes.
In spring 2001, USU honored 102 student athletes, including freshmen.
USU also had 11 student athletes who finished the spring semester with a 4.0 GPA, an improvement from the 10 student athletes who finished the fall 2000 semester with a 4.0 GPA.
The Aggies also had 26 student athletes on the USU spring deans list, requiring a 3.5 GPA or higher and being enrolled in 15 credits.
Most recently, senior outside hitter on the USU volleyball team Tanya McArthur-Birch was named to the Verizon Academic District VIII Women’s Volleyball Second Team.
Birch is an exercise science major with a 4.0 GPA.
Members of the college Sports Informations Directors of America voted Birch to the academic team. Birch is one of 18 female athletes representing 14 NCAA Division I schools.
Aggie football players Jesse Busta and Nate Putnam were also named to the 2001 Verizon Academic all-District VIII
Football Second Team. Honorees for the award must have a 3.2 cumulative GPA and participate in at least half of the team’s games.
Busta, a junior linebacker, holds a 3.25 GPA in management.
Putnam, an undeclared sophomore defensive end, holds a 3.63 GPA. Last season Putnam was named as a first team all-conference player on the field as well as the classroom by the Big West Conference.
“The better you are academically the more intelligent you are and of course that is going to carry over into sports,” he said.
Newson takes notes with other class members in his social psychology class in Old Main. All USU athletes must be enrolled in and maintain 12 credit hours at all times, said USU assistant athletic director Brian Evans. (Joe Rowley )