THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
...on both playing field and in classroom
players at a 50 percent rate, you
reduce the number of available
scholarships," Kretchmar said.
Grand Experimentation
Joe Paterno's "Grand Experi
ment" is a good example of one
coach's plan to build and maintain
a successful athletic program with
out sacrificing academic standards.
In "The Paterno Legacy" (1998),
Bob Smizik took one of the famous
coach's quotes from the late 1960 s
when Penn State had just begun
to establish itself as a national foot
ball power to summarize the
idea
"Everybody assumes if you have
a great football team there have to
be sacrifices in the area of academ
ic standards," Paterno said at the
time. "People tell me it can't be
done without sacrificing standards.
They tell me I'm daydreaming."
Those who called Paterno a day
dreamer stuck a pretty large col
lective foot in their collective
mouth Penn State has been one
of the winningest teams in the
country dujngrPatemo's 37-year tenure, all the
whfic ;wrung among the nation's leaders in gradu
ation rates.
Recently, Paterno's teams have fallen on the
field, going from 18-5 in 1998 and 1999 to 10-13 the
past two seasons.
Because of the on-the-field decline, Penn State
has received some criticism for not recruiting top
notch athletes from junior colleges, which is what
schools such as the University of Miami, Kansas
State University and Oregon State University do
regularly.
At Penn State, however, incentive to keep the
grades up is more than just a desire for a diploma
if Paterno's Nittany Lions can't cut it in the
rlaqsroom, they don't play. Period.
"Being student-athletes, you've got to worry
about a lot of stuff," said defensive back Rich Gard
ner. "Class is the biggest of all. You don't want to
put yourself in a position where you can't play"
Joe lorio, the Lions' starting center, is in his
third year of both football and classes and is a
dean's list student in the College of Information
Sciences and Technology.
Like many student-athletes, lorio understands
the importance of structure when it comes to mak
ing the grade.
"I came from a Catholic school, where I learned
to regulate my work habits," he said. "But when a
lot of people get to college, they have trouble with
that because they don't know how to do it."
Penn State's major sports football and men's
and women's basketball bring in plenty of rev
enue, part of which is used to fund the academic
support programs. But sports generate just as
much money at the University of Oklahorna, so
why did it Lail to graduate a single member of the
men's basketball team's freshman class of 1994?
A factor that can affect rates is how many ath
letes leave school early for the NBA or the NFL. It
happens more and more each year not only with
athletes who have one year of eligibility remaining,
but sometimes, two or three.
When the pros come calling...
What about these student-athletes, the ones who
have what it takes to play in the pros, such as
many of the stars at Michigan, Penn State or other
big-name football programs? Finishing a term
paper can become even more of a nuisance is a
player knows he could be a Top 10 draft pick mak
ing millions of dollars a year if he leaves school
earbr.
"There are legitimate cases where kids may
have to go into the NBA or the NFL," Northwest
ern's Taylor said. His school hasn't exactly been a
breeding ground for players in either professional
league, sending only a select few to the next level,
but other schools, Penn State among them, face
the issue emth year.
Should universities with top-notch athletic pro
grams and low graduation rates be punished for
sending their players to the pros before they grad
uate?
"If there's any doubt in their minds, we encour
age them to come back, get their degree," Curley
said. "But, there are extenuating circumstances."
Fbr many student-athletes, the issue runs deep
er than simply the diploma itself. They don't see
Mercedes-Benzes or 14-bedroom mansions behind
the loaded contracts being presented to them, but
rather opportunities to provide a better lifestyle for
themselves and their families.
Take the case of former Nittany Lion football
star Brandon Short, who had the opportunity to
leave Penn State after his junior season and make
the jump to the NFL.
Weighing heavily on Short's decision was how
poor his family was. But he decided to stay and
play his senior season, earn his degree and join the
pros afterwards.
Short found what many athletes find that the
pros aren't going anywhere, and that a player can
be just as successful in many cases, more so
in the pros if he sticks around for his final year of
eligibility, earning a high-quality education in the
process.
"That says an awful lot about Brandon, where
his priorities are," Curley said. "But we realize that
every situation's different. I don't criticize someone
who makes a different decision."
Raising the bar
Keeping a high academic standard goes beyond
establishing high standards at the support level.
The Morgan Center could not have had the impact
it has had at Penn State without the support it has
received from the university.
"You need commitment from the central admin
istration first," Kenepp said.
"The university has to expect student-athletes to
be students first."
Kenepp said another key to Penn State's aca
demic success is due to the fact that Curley has a
seat on university president Graham Spanier's
Presidential Council.
"It's unlikely an athletic director would have the
same sensitivity if he wasn't (involved)," she said.
Curley, who helped develop the Morgan Center
in the 1980 s when he was an assistant athletic
director, said the process of maintaining high stan
dards and bringing in exceptional student-athletes
is cyclical
"If you didn't have any or less standards you
Big Ten Conference
leadmition rates of staileat-atkistes in
basketball aad football (hi peantages).*
Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Football
Northwestern 73 93 86
Penn State 80 82 70
lowa 67 82 64
Purdue 55 47 57
Michigan 14 75 45
Indiana 43 -
_ 4l 70
Wisconsin 46 100 53
Illinois 45 56 54
Michigan State 71 92 40
Minnesota 17 93 46
Ohio State
•
National Average 41 64 49
'Last lour student-athlete classes studied by the NCAA
(players who entered as freshmen in 1991, 1992, 1993 and
1994 and who earned a degree within six years.)
Siam NMI
would not have access to those kinds of students,"
Curley said.
The lofty standards Penn State has established
are one of the reasons that Nittany Lion athletes
garnered 227 Academic All-Big Ten honorees to
lead the conference for the fifth consecutive year
in 2000-2001.
Reaching toward improvement
Some schools just don't make the grade, for one
reason or another. Obviously, not all universities
share the annual graduation success rates of
Northwestern or Penn State.
For instance, although the University of Cincin
nati's overall graduation rates for student-athletes
greatly exceed those of the school's overall student
body, the men's basketball program has graduated
only eight percent of its players over the last four
measured years and none from the freshman
class of 1994.
Like Penn State, Cincinnati has its own academ
ic support staff, required study hours for freshmen
and hundreds of thousands of dollars at its dispos
al to facilitate the guidance process.
What, then, is the disparity, especially on the
hardwood, where the Lions graduate 80 percent of
their players compared to the Bearcats' eight?
"Our basketball program has relied a lot on jun
ior-college recruiting," said Cincinnati Assistant
Athletic Director and Media Relations Director
Tom Hathaway. "Two years at a junior college does
not necessarily transfer into two years of study at a
four-year school. That works against you a little bit
toward the graduation rate."
What's to be done
There are a number of factors that can have
substantial effects on graduation rates, including
how many athletes transfer to another college or
how many leave school early to pursue profession
al careers.
What are the differences between the "haves"
and. the "have-nots?" Why aren't the schools strug-
Jackie Sherman, a sophomore women's lacrosse player, takes notes at the East Area Locker Room yesterday evening. Each of Penn State's 29 varsity teams ha - Ve
their own minimum required amount of study hours per week. Many spend their time in the East Area building.
GRADUATION RATES
Jaimie Confer/Collegian
,gige :glan
Joe brio protects quarterback Zack Mills. lorio is one-of several Nittany Lion athletes on the dean's list Penn
State's academic reputation is reknowned, as the Lions graduate nearly three-fourths of their football players.
gling to graduate a majority of their players estab- support centers at Penn State and Stanford have
lishing the same kind of "culture" that exists at been emulated for years. The disparity in grades
Penn State, Michigan or Northwestern? doesn't match up to the disparity in academic sup
" Our philosophy has always been emphasizing port.
the student in student-athlete," Kenepp said. "And "I don't know that there's that much difference,"
ensure that they're provided with a wealth of Cincinnati's Hathaway said. "There may have
opportunities." been 20 years ago. But now, people know what
Some schools that aren't measuring up, though, other people are doing. If someone's found this or
can't be blamed for lack of trying. The academic that to work, other people will try to adopt it."
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5, 2001 15
IMCZEI