Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By the books.
The presidents aren't always right, but they are in charge. We can only hope the NCAA Council remembers that next month when it considers the backward-step proposal on Division I initial eligibility the presidents pounded out with a sledgehammer and not a gavel.
Since 1986, when the NCAA adopted Bylaw 14.3.1.1 - popularly known as Proposition 48 - the academic quality of major-college athletes has been enhanced. Tougher eligibility requirements for freshmen are scheduled to take effect in August 1995, when Proposal 16 and its sliding scale for grade-point averages and standardized test scores goes into effect.
Under Prop 48, athletic eligibility for college freshmen has been based upon a 2.0 grade-point average in 11 core courses and a score of at least 700 on the Scholastic Assessment Test. Under Proposal 16, a qualifier with a 2.0 - in 13 high school core courses - would need a 900 SAT score and a student with a 700 SAT score would need a 2.5 average on the sliding scale. However, Proposal 16 was scheduled for review at the NCAA Convention in January, after concerns were expressed that the tougher academic requirements could limit opportunities for minorities.
So, the NCAA Special Committee to Review Initial Eligibility Standards came up with Proposal 174. It was a sliding scale, as well. If Proposal 16 was a step forward for academic credibility, then Proposal 174 was two steps backward. The numbers don't seem to say it, but it isn't as demanding as Prop 48.
A prospective Division I student-athlete with a 2.0 would need an 810 on the SAT to be eligible for an athletic scholarship and to compete as a freshman. On the sliding scale, a recruit with a 2.5 would need a 650 test score. On the Proposal 174 scale, if a high school graduate scored a 3.0 in core courses, only a 410 on the SAT would be required.
A 410? You get 400 for signing your name. It is one thing to say standardized tests are culturally biased, which studies repeatedly have shown. It's another to send the message to high schoolers that test scores are totally irrelevant.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Proposition 48 has been that high school student-athletes have met the challenge. In increasing numbers, they've achieved for their opportunity - and college is, or should be, an earned opportunity.
When athletes and coaches talk ``opportunity,'' some mean opportunity to compete in sports. Some mean opportunity to make a program successful. That's fine, but intertwined with those should be an opportunity to graduate, and putting student-athletes with 500 SAT scores on a campus where the average is twice that is asking too much.
A 2.5 in the core courses at one high school is different from a 2.5 at another. There is no standardization on the grade-point average side. Besides, admissions officers have seen more than a few athletes whose senior-year grades are markedly higher than the numbers and letters of previous years. Call it the inflation rate in recruiting.
That's why test scores are important and will remain so. And in refusing to sponsor Proposal 174, the Presidents Commission is proposing its own legislation to tack onto Proposal 16, which still is on the books for August '95 despite the howls for a softening or at least a year's delay to permit further study.
A disproportionate number of non-qualifiers score above 600 but below 700. The presidents will sponsor legislation allowing partial qualifiers, with a 700 SAT combined with a 2.5 average in 13 core courses as a qualifying minimum.
In recognizing the test scores' impact on minority students, the Presidents Commission is proposing a student with the core requirements and at least a 600 SAT score (or 15 ACT) be permitted to receive financial aid and practice, but not compete or travel with a team. If that student satisfies NCAA requirements on progression toward graduation, a fourth year of athletic eligibility can be earned back in a fifth academic year.
That would seem to give the athlete an opportunity to succeed. Proposal 16, in its original form, would have leveled the recruiting field. A partial-qualifier rule isn't perfect, but it's preferable to making ``What's your name?'' the most important question on the SAT.
by CNB