More than 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt
felt so strongly about the health and well-being of students,
and their participation in athletics, that he called together
the then high-powered teams such as Harvard and New York
University to form the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA).
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STATE OF THE NCAA: Dr. Myles Brand, president
of the
NCAA, visited Eastern Michigan University
Sept. 18.
Here, he makes a point about college
student-athletes
while EMU Regents James Stapleton
and Tom Sidlik, and
EMU Athletics Director Derrick
Gragg listen. |
That belief in a student's health and welfare continues,
said NCAA President Myles Brand who discussed the state
of the NCAA and current issues in intercollegiate athletics
Sept. 18, at Eastern Michigan University's Welch Hall.
"The United States is the only country in the world to
integrate sports into its academics," said Brand. "In our
culture, sports play a key role."
During his hour-long talk, Brand said the NCAA participates
in the collegiate model of intercollegiate or amateur athletics,
in which athletics must be embedded within the framework
of the university, not distanced from it. He emphasized
that student-athletes are students first.
He noted, that of the 500,000 young men in high school
playing basketball, only 1 percent end up playing in the
NCAA. Of that 1 percent, only about 50 get invited to try
out for the NBA and then, only 10-15 get to play professionally.
"You need a plan B. That means getting an education because
the likelihood of being a prodigy is infinitesimal," Brand
said. "We're asking students in high school and college
athletics to work harder in the classroom and be better
prepared academically."
The NCAA is raising the level of eligibility of core-course
standards for high school students, so students have to
come prepared to graduate in five years, said Brand.
How well a student does in high school core courses, such
as reading and math, are reliable predictors of how well
a student will do academically in college, he said. Athletes,
in part, will be held accountable, but teams, coaches and
the athletic department also are now accountable for academic
success.
"I remember when high school students needed 13 academic
core courses to be eligible at the collegiate level. When
it increased to 14, there was quite an uproar," said Melody
Reifel Werner, associate athletic director, compliance
and special projects at EMU. "This year, students have
to present 16 core courses to be eligible for competition,
practice and athletically-related scholarships. The bar
has been set high and, as Dr. Brand said, students, for
the most part, rise to the level of the standard that is
set for them."
"When you offer academic support, financial aid and realistic
standards, people rise to the standard and graduate," Brand
said. "Those with a college degree will earn $1.2 million
more over their lifetime than students with only a high
school degree."
"Nationally, student-athletes graduated at a higher rate
than the general population," Brand added. "Student-athletes
are doing better and heading in the right direction, but
there is still room for improvement."
