SJSU athletes hitting the books with force

By: John Hornberg

Posted: 5/13/09

Recent academic reports for student-athletes have resulted in more penalties for SJSU's athletic teams, but there is a silver lining this year for the university's teams.

According to the SJSU Athletics Web site, all 16 teams scored above the minimum 925 Academic Progress Rate, or APR, threshold to avoid sanctions from the NCAA for poor academic performance.

But 11 of SJSU's 16 Division-I sports teams registered their highest multiyear academic progress rates since the NCAA began tracking academic progress in 2003, said Lawrence Fan, the university's sports information director.

"The difference for the whole department is partially because of the commitment the athletics department and the university has made in regard to its student-athletes in terms of its academic pursuits," he said.

But the university will still have sanctions for next year. The football team will lose five scholarships for the upcoming season, according to a report released by the NCAA. The women's basketball team will lose one scholarship, and the men's soccer team will also lose scholarships.

The APR sanctions are based on each team's multiyear APR score, Fan said, which is based on a team's academic performance during a four-year period.

The reason for the sanctions against teams such as football and men's soccer go back to previous academic transgressions, Fan said.

The overall athletics department progress rate for 2004-05 was 897, Fan said. The total score for all teams this year was 949.

"We need to do more institutionally in terms of an academic support system," former SJSU President Don Kassing told the Spartan Daily last year after the first report of major sanctions were made.

Academic changes have occurred for student-athletes in the last five years, Fan said. The university has added several staff members, including a learning specialist and an academic adviser, to encourage academic improvement for student-athletes.

Last year, the football team, men's soccer team, and men's cross-country team all had reductions in the number of scholarships and practice time, Fan said. Along with those teams, the men's basketball team and baseball team had reductions in scholarships.

SJSU is not at risk of facing penalties from the Western Athletic Conference for academic issues. Anthony Archbald, the conference's assistant commissioner for compliance, said the conference does not impose additional penalties for APR violations beyond the NCAA's.

He said the conference's universities have shown improvement since the academic progress ratings were first instituted, and are doing the best to compete with the resources each university has on hand.

"I think with any program you're implementing that's trying to create this dramatic culture change, the program has to have some teeth, or some incentives and disincentives," Archbald said. "I think that (the APR program's) system of incentives and disincentives are strong enough to create that change."

One student, Jaclyn Garrison, said she thinks the university's sports teams should be in better academic standing.

"I think, if they have a scholarship, they should keep their academic standing," said the senior communicative disorder major. "Especially because the state is paying for (their) education."

Another student agreed.

"They should be penalized," said Andy Romero, a sophomore kinesiology major. "Why are you in school? It's not all about sports."

But Lawrence Fan gave a more optimistic view.

"There's significant upward progression," he said. "To say that all 16 teams were above the benchmark, this is the first time that that has been the case. This most recent report is precedent-setting, and there's every reason to believe that this year's precedent will continue."

Ryan Buchan contributed to this report.