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Major athletes hurdle toward easier majors
When it comes to academics, athletes are more like Rodney Dangerfield than Albert Einstein in traditional public perception. They really don't get any respect. And while some of that is self-deserving, most student-athletes are just as successful, if not more, than the average student. In 1997, 64 percent of University of Arizona athletes graduated, besting the school's overall average by 12 percent. "Our student-athletes are well-motivated and really work hard on their studies," Athletics Director Jim Livengood said. "They have the tough task of balancing their studies, practices and social time. It forces them to get the most out of what limited time they have." Even though the numbers look impressive at first, they are a bit misleading. Realistically, Arizona student athletes fall into two categories: those whose meal ticket is their education, and those who are looking to professional sports for a living. "I think it's a misrepresentation to clump all of sports together when it comes to their education," UA women's volleyball coach Dave Rubio said. "Generally, the media focuses on the football and basketball teams. And in this case, many times they have a different motivation than say the women's soccer or volleyball athletes." In the men's sports with legitimate professional opportunities - basketball, football and baseball - the athletes are more tempted to take less work-intensive majors than athletes in other sports. For example, in football and men's basketball, 40 percent of last year's starters were in the traditionally "cushy" majors of family studies and communication. Family studies majors have few real-world opportunities upon graduation because of the social science base, so the large number of athletes majoring in this area tends to indicate a lighter workload. "Like most social sciences, there aren't as many opportunities to earn a high salary as the engineering or business venues," said Rod Cate, director of the UA's School of Family and Consumer Resources. "But what I think the athletes do like is our supportive faculty. We don't try and weed students out. Instead, we treat our students as individuals, not numbers." The other sports tend to behave more like the school averages, with the exception of fewer technical majors. Some teams, like the women's volleyball team, also enter diverse areas of studies as a group. Most of the volleyball players take four years of sign language to fulfill their humanities requirements. "The volleyball team started this when I came here, and we all have enjoyed the sign language classes. I really enjoyed learning it and am currently minoring in deaf studies," said communication senior Sara Johnson, a former volleyball player. "It has really been exciting as we have been able to do some volunteer work for Arizona's school for the deaf." But the biggest worries are the players who just try to keep eligibility through four years but never earn an applicable degree. "It is a concern for us. But you have to realize that the purpose of college is to prepare you for a good job," Livengood said. "If the professional ranks gives some athletes this, then it's sometimes hard to keep their motivation in school. "It's like if a chemical engineer, who could make $70,000 upon graduation, was offered $2.5 million after his third year to work for an engineering firm. Of course he is going to take it, and that's what we have to sometimes face with these talented athletes." The UA does have guidelines for retaining eligibility. NCAA regulations and Arizona Board of Regents policies state that all athletes must declare a major by their fifth semester with a minimum cumulative GPA of 1.8. Before playing their senior year, athletes must have 75 percent of their degree program course requirements completed and have a 2.0 cumulative GPA. The only oddity in these rules is that athletes can participate with a 1.8 cumulative GPA if they have completed less than 96 units. If a non-athlete's cumulative GPA ever dips below 2.0, that student is placed on academic probation. Yet for every Mike Bibby who leaves early, there is a Stephanie Venne that does extremely well. Venne, a volleyball player last season, finished with a 3.7 GPA in psychology and entered the Ph.D. program at UCLA. "The last two years, the Freeman Award has been given to an athlete. Swimmer Heather Branstetter won it last year and track star Jonathan Pillow won it the year before," said Becky Bell, director of the Athletic Department's CATS personal development program. "This award is given to the best senior at the University of Arizona based on academics and extracurricular activities." "We really try and tell athletes not to close any doors, even if you have professional aspirations in your sport," Livengood said. "There are no guarantees in professional sports, but no one can ever take that degree away from you."
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