DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709100732

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   69 lines

STUDY FINDINGS COME AS NO SURPRISE TO AREA OFFICIALS

The sharp decline in the percentage of African Americans and low-income freshmen who were eligible for major-college sports last fall came as no surprise to several area sports officials.

``I have felt like many times the young, inner-city black kids have been exploited because of their talent,'' said Bert Harrell, the athletic director for Norfolk Public Schools. ``Those kids are just as intelligent as the white kids. They just aren't always being challenged or have the support system.''

According to Norfolk State women's basketball coach James Sweat, some high school seniors he encountered while recruiting were unaware of the core courses they needed to qualify for college eligibility, that they could take more than one standardized test or that they could choose between the SAT and the ACT.

``And lot of them wait until the last semester to take the test, especially African Americans,'' Sweat said. ``They need to be better educated as to what's involved.''

Their comments came in response to the recently released NCAA report revealing that nearly 27 percent of the 6,030 African Americans in an organization study were ineligible to compete as freshmen in 1996, up from 16 percent in 1995. In addition, 22.2 percent of students from families earning less than $30,000 a year were ineligible last year, as opposed to 14.7 the year before.

An increase in the number of core courses required for freshman eligibility from 11 to 13 in 1995 and the establishment of a sliding scale combining standardized test scores and grade-point averages last year may have contributed to the dramatic increase in non-qualifiers.

But Old Dominion athletic director Jim Jarrett believes the standards are necessary, and points to the study findings that show an increase in African American and low-income scholarship recipients and African-American college graduates as proof that the system is gradually working.

``When you see these things happening, you have to say there are some positives,'' Jarrett said. ``I'm encouraged.''

Jarrett added that while he doesn't argue with those who say the standardized tests are culturally biased, ``I don't think the standards that have been raised are so demanding that the bias is a major factor.

``But we probably do need to look at fine-tuning the standards. And we definitely need to better communicate the fact that these standards are there clear down to the middle schools.''

Area school boards have increasingly turned to the 2.0 minimum grade-point average rule as a way of demanding more from their students. But Norcom football coach Joe Langston, who has seen his roster shrink from 55-60 players to 35 in one year, wonders whether such a rule properly addresses the problem.

``You're telling them they have to maintain (a certain GPA) before they know how to maintain,'' Langston said. ``It's easy to make rules. Enforcing them and maintaining them are the problem.''

Harrell believes the Norfolk schools have found an answer. Beginning later this month, students with grade-point averages below 2.0 who want to play sports will be required to attend study sessions where they will be tutored on their weak subjects. Academic advisors have been hired for each of the city's five public schools and practice times will be scheduled later in the day to accommodate the study sessions.

``You can't tell me if I tutor you on the subjects you're not doing well in every day you can't get a 2.0,'' Harrell said. ``And if it turns out you can't get a Division I scholarship, at least you're going to be able to get a job. I think we're going to make a big difference with this.''

In the end, however, a student's desire to play in college might be the best motivator, according to Ronyell Whitaker, a senior and All-Tidewater football player at Lake Taylor.

``If you really want to play at the next level, no matter how hard the work is, you should be able to go in and do it,'' he said. MEMO: Staff writer Jay Lidington contributed to this report.

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