The Board of Directors for the National Collegiate Athletic Association is considering a proposal to institute a more rigorous system of academic incentives and disincentives for Division I athletic programs at colleges and universities across the country.
The new system will evaluate several aspects of student-athlete academic performance, including graduation rates, and will punish schools that fail to graduate at least 50 percent of its athletes, according to the Board's report.
The University, however, does not expect to be impacted by a stricter system, said David Storm, Athletic Department director of compliance. The graduation rate for the class that entered the University in 1996 -- the most recent statistics available -- was 78 percent, well above the national average of 62 percent.
"I don't think that Virginia is going to change its policies because our current policy is that once student-athletes exhaust their eligibility, they will graduate," Storm said. "Of course, we will be paying extra attention to the new regulations, but we already have a strong system set up to help the student-athletes achieve their academic goals."
The new system would penalize schools in three phases. First, the school would receive a publicly issued warning, then it would lose scholarship and recruiting privileges, and finally, the school could be banned from post-season play.
According to a report issued by the Board, "The goal should be, first and foremost, to encourage improved academic performance of all student-athletes on all sports teams so the mission of the NCAA and the commitment to our student-athletes can be better realized."
Storm echoed these goals in his personal view of the proposal.
"Personally, I think that encouraging students to focus on getting their education is a good thing," he said. "The vast majority of people playing college sports will not go on to be professional athletes. They are not going to get wealthy playing sports, so they need their education."
Freshman rower Mieke Pitts said she attributes the high graduation rate in part to the excellent academic programs available to varsity athletes. These programs include study hall, personal tutors and specialized academic advising.
"The fact that study hall and tutors are available has made me feel a lot more comfortable with my studies," Pitts said. "The fact that there is somewhere that I can go to get help if I need something is very reassuring."
According to the annual report issued by the Athletic Department, 144 student-athletes made the Dean's List at the end of the fall semester last year, along with 84 students in the spring. In addition, five teams achieved an overall GPA of over 3.0.
The majority of coaches require their teams to spend a set number of hours in study hall each week.
"The great thing about study hall is that it is open until 10 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, so you have the evening to go to study hall and do your work," freshman golfer Leah Wigger said. "I think the tremendous academic success here has to do with the high expectations of the teachers and the fact that everyone here is so intelligent. I feel like everyone is expected to excel throughout the University."
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