Proposition 48, the guidelines requiring freshmen students to achieve a particular score on the SAT or ACT based on their high school GPA, has proven useful but not omnipotent in ensuring that athletes not only score on the courts and fields but the classroom as well. Prior to the revised version of the SAT, in which scores were scaled upward, an athlete had to receive a combined score of 700 to play in their freshman season. However, a student might be eligible to play with a lower test score based on a sliding scale of scores and grades. In other words, a B student could play if with an SAT score above 680. In response to the new scoring system, the NCAA has shifted its required scores.
Getting to play as a freshman is one thing; maintaining eligibility is another. While these initial requirements are crystal clear, the college years that follow are far more confusing to assess. Certainly, standards have been set for athletes to maintain by the NCAA and others involved, but the achievement of these standards is another issue. Testimonials by former college athletes admitting they maintained eligibility throughout their college career while not knowing how to read has shattered the NCAA's image as an effective body. It seems some schools are willing to forget the student in the student-athlete as long as those athletes bring in money to the university.
In all of this debate, perhaps the greatest tragedy is the ridicule and embarrassment suffered by the athletes. The publishing of a prized recruit's low SAT score will elicit many snide remarks by the high-and-mighty general public. At the same time, the self-confidence of the athlete, who is, incredibly, human, is deflated.
Schools should be as tough with athletes as with any student. The job of the university, first and foremost is to educate, not sell tickets. While it may be difficult for athletes to balance school work with crunching demands from coaches, that is part of the deal. The universities should, and usually do, provide special assitance for help with school work to these students who are often forced to miss lectures to miss lecture as well as exams because of the events. The school should not provide passing grades to students who don't attend classes or allow athletes to miss assignments given to the class.
The demands on collegiate athletes are many. Not many college students have to take a test the day after a nationally televised ball game. However, high and low profile athletes alike must be subject to the same rules as everyone else. When it comes to the classroom, we must all be on the same court.