College athletes are expected to maintain high GPAs while attending daily practice, meetings, and workouts. The NCAA requires that students maintain at least a 2.3 GPA, and many athletes' scholarships or coaches require an even higher minimum.
In the article Athletes' Tips on Balancing Your GPA and College Football, we talked to four football players from different colleges on their advice in managing schoolwork and athletics. While they had some great tips, many highlighted how difficult it is to maintain a healthy social, school, and sports balance.
Charles Vaughn, a Northwestern State football player, described his experience: “During our football season we have so many meetings, watch so much film, and practice for hours. When I get back to my dorm, I literally have no energy to study.”
Below are some resources to help with school-sport balance that colleges should implement for their athletes.
Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits
Priority Class Scheduling
Many college sports have games and/or require that the team travel during the week to make it to away games. Either way, they end up missing a lot of class. To combat this, colleges should ensure that athletes get priority registration for classes. This would allow them to pick classes that interfere the least with practice and games. Athletes with priority scheduling could also have more options for online or in-person-style classrooms, depending on their preference and learning style.
Academic Seminars
Knowing how you learn best is one of the most valuable skills a student can have. School and athletic programs could and should provide academic seminars on how to study with limited time and other key skills student-athletes need to know. This would ensure that athletes have the resources to learn how to study and succeed. Notre Dame has a mandatory transition seminar for their freshman athletes that emphasizes consistency, good habits, and balance.
Related: Top 7 Athlete Academic Resources in the Big-12
Tutoring & Learning Services
While most colleges have some form of athlete tutoring program, there should be universal requirements for these programs. Many tutoring programs have limited hours that don't align with athletes' schedules. By setting hours based on athletes' schedules, colleges would be helping them manage the large time commitment that playing a sport demands. Colleges should also implement programs that teach more than just the material that athletes cover in class. Teaching athletes how to become better students through better study skills, time management skills, and critical thinking skills, gives athletes the tools they need to succeed on their own. SMU has a learning service in place that has reading and writing interventionists to help athletes improve these critical skills.
One of the hardest parts of adjusting to college, particularly for athletes, is finding balance. By creating organizations geared towards athletes and implementing academic resources, colleges can give athletes all the tools they need to successfully create a balanced college experience.
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* Originally published on March 25, 2022, by Daley Craft
