{"id":7961,"date":"2015-09-23T20:51:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T01:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/?p=7961"},"modified":"2015-09-23T21:17:46","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T02:17:46","slug":"athletes-learning-there-really-is-a-word-student-in-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/athletes-learning-there-really-is-a-word-student-in-front\/","title":{"rendered":"Student-athletes face tougher academic standards"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jessica<\/a>
Jessica Graham was an NSR volleyball prospect who excelled in the classroom as well as on the court.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lost in the din of packed stadiums and arenas coast to coast is the simple yet irrefutable fact that student-athletes must remain academically eligible to participate in college athletics.\u00a0 And as time goes on and NCAA rules stiffen regarding initial eligibility for incoming freshmen as well as for athletes already enrolled, everyone finally may be getting the penultimate message:\u00a0 Go to class; do the work; earn your eligibility.<\/p>\n

History tells a grim story of high school athletes barely getting by academically, then skating by in college on courses seemingly created by the Tooth Fairy.\u00a0 Well, the long arms of NCAA\u00a0member schools have been stretching and reaching\u00a0toward tougher academic standards for years.\u00a0 Unless the point remains unclear, those standards are here and they have glistening, sharp teeth.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0practically every loophole closed and safeguards positioned throughout the academic process, student-athletes are now, more than ever before, being first held accountable for their academic\u00a0results before they can step foot on a field, court, pitch or diamond.<\/p>\n

Granted, the pathway is made somewhat easier\u00a0for those\u00a0advancing to the professional levels in football and basketball through one- or two-and-done rules set in place by the NBA and NFL, respectively.\u00a0 But they make up a very small percentage of all college student-athletes.\u00a0 Add the\u00a0wave of Division I scholarships being guaranteed for four years by the Big Five conferences, which essentially\u00a0provide their athletes with far more security.\u00a0 For the average student-athletes not impacted by these advantages,\u00a0scholarships,\u00a0which help pay for educations and are critical financial components, rest in the balance.<\/p>\n

So-called mid-major schools continue to twist in the wind from unilateral decisions made in 2014 and 2015 by the Big Five conferences.\u00a0 It makes for a bumpy ride when competing to land prospects in such an environment.\u00a0 Moreover, thousands of Division II student-athletes are still fighting to keep\u00a0their\u00a0athletic and academic scholarships\u00a0one semester at a time.\u00a0 The headlines may tell the story of top-tier schools with\u00a0first-rate\u00a0athletes, high-profile coaches and historically rich programs, but\u00a0compared to the\u00a0big picture they are but\u00a0shiny subjects overshadowing\u00a0a\u00a0complex\u00a0background.<\/p>\n

It is not getting any less demanding for high school student-athletes, either.\u00a0\u00a0For the Class of 2018,\u00a0graduates will be expected to have passed at least\u00a016 core courses in high school to be cleared for eligibility in both Division I and II (Division III does not offer athletic scholarships).\u00a0\u00a0That is a tall order for some and may catch\u00a0a surprising number of\u00a0aspiring athletes unaware in the spring of 2016.\u00a0 For\u00a0future athletes aspiring to make it to the college ranks and to survive there,\u00a0parents,\u00a0youth and high school\u00a0coaches,\u00a0counselors and administrators should\u00a0stand prepared to help them understand the crucial part academics plays in their journey or it could be a short trip.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lost in the din of packed stadiums and arenas coast to coast is the simple yet irrefutable fact that student-athletes must remain academically eligible to participate in college athletics.\u00a0 And as time goes on and NCAA rules stiffen regarding initial eligibility for incoming freshmen as well as for athletes already enrolled, everyone finally may be … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[11,31,169,56,79],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7961"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7969,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7961\/revisions\/7969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}