College Athletics and Academics - Paul Hewitt Gives Knight Commission an Earful

The Internet sites devoted to the world of college sports have been abuzz since Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt took hold of a microphone at a recent Knight Commission meeting. The coach did not hold anything back as he spoke about graduation rates, the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report, and the power of money over the world of college sports.

Hewitt is a member of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Academic Enhancement Working Group. When he took hold of the microphone, he gave the Knight Commission, a private reform group formed in 1989 in response to college sports scandals, an earful.

Improving Student Academic Performance Means Cutting Competitive Schedule
Hewitt had the audacity to suggest that he would like to see basketball become a one-semester sport. He noted that coaches overall are very much in favor of a shorter schedule as it would allow student-athletes to focus on the classroom for a longer portion of the college academic year.

At the same time he noted the two competing aspects of college sports, the basic concept of students earning a degree versus universities and the NCAA making money from high profile sporting events. Hewitt stated that if schools and the NCAA were truly serious about improving student performance in the classroom then a reduction in the competitive schedule was warranted. At the same time, Hewitt acknowledged that a reduction in the season would negatively impact the enormous television revenue that comes from playing more games as early as November.

The Georgia Tech coach let the chips fall when he stated that the student-athlete side of the issue did not stand a chance given the money involved.

Academic Progress Report Deters Graduation Rates
Hewitt also took on the new Academic Progress Report scores and the demands placed on schools to meet the respective targets. Hewitt offered that such demands were “turning education into a race.”

He is right - the new APR simply encourages coaches to deter athletes from taking more difficult courses. Any courses that might lead to lower grades and ultimately lead to a loss of eligibility are now being shunned by student-athletes.

To get a sense of how the standards backfire, we turn to Jay Basten, a full-time kinesiology lecturer at the University of Michigan. Basten noted that recent changes at Michigan have toughened the kinesiology’s sport management major that so many athletes were taking.

The result, according to Basten, is that many athletes simply shifted concentrations to an unstructured degree program called general studies. But the most damning evidence comes from an assessment by Basten as to the athletic experience and the rigors of a real college course of study.

When asked if the University of Michigan could offer student-athletes an academic experience similar to that of a typical student while at the same time maintain a high-caliber and competitive athletic program Basten didn’t beat around the bush.

“No.”.

One Positive Element
We must acknowledge that Hewitt revealed one very telling statistic about the college sports experience and students earning a degree. Hewitt, quoting from NCAA statistics, noted that white male basketball and football players actually have a graduation rate lower than the white male student body as a whole. At the same time, black football and basketball players actually graduate at a rate above that of the general student body for that respective demographic.

It seems that the world of college sports may have greater merit for the black athlete than we first acknowledged. In fact, the world of college athletics appears to help black athletes obtain that all-important diploma.

At the same time, we reiterate how disappointing it is to hear of the overall graduation rate, especially given that for white male athletes it is below that of their peers.

Back in December we took a look at the appalling graduation rates of college athletes, especially those at major universities where sports are no longer kept in balance. We noted the work of Derrick Z. Jackson, a columnist for the Boston Globe, who reviewed the college graduation rates for the 64 football teams that were invited to a bowl game in 2007. For Jackson it was his 12th examination of what he has dubbed the “Graduation Gap Bowl.” Jackson awarded touchdowns to only 22 of the 64 schools. In Jackson eyes, to score a touchdown, a school needs to graduate 50% of its white football players, 50% of its black football players, and have a graduation gap of less than 15 percentage points between the two groups.

After thanking Jackson for pointing out both the appalling graduation rate and the enormous discrepancies between black and white athletes at these elite schools, we received some major criticism from readers. One commenter, Mike Davis wrote, “It is a shame that you, like so much of the media today, try to turn everything into a race issue.” Another rendering comments, R U Serious offered, “Half the players who go to the better football schools aren’t going there to get a degree, or a top notch education.”

We must first note the response of instructor Basten and his clear indication that college sports as constructed prevents the average student-athlete from being able to obtain a traditional college academic experience. We also applaud Hewitt for offering a real solution to addressing what is truly a dreadful situation.

At the same time we must acknowledge Hewitt’s point regarding black athletes. If such athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general black student body then we must in fact recognize that college athletics is in fact serving the proper purpose for a number of individuals.

Most importantly, we turn to the larger picture and the notion that a college degree should in fact be the primary goal for all student-athletes. Hewitt, thankfully, appears ready to help make that possible.

If only the NCAA, the governing body for college sports, and the majority of our colleges and universities, were as ready as Hewitt is.