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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1983)
Texas A&M The January 28, 1983 Page 11 Sports A&M officials in favor of No. 48 dair, Hunt call new rules ositive step for academics by Frank L. Christlieb Battalion Staff v The argument has all but sub- at ded and the volume dial con- ' oiling a once-powerl ul debate iiectu as been turned down — at least i() 'inpoiarily. Bui the rumblings that began in. 11 among National Collegi- :e Athletic Association mem- ers haven’t disappeared yet, a: idit’snot likely that they'll lade ,vay completely on this particu- r issue. ^Bie halls of academia still ng from the explosion of Prop- sal No. 48, the NCAA legisla- | y on that in 1986 will start en- ev( ircing tougher academic stan- onr aids on incoming student- hletes. Upon passage of the i\\> roposal at the NCAA national herat m\ ention two weeks ago in San iego, many academicians )okc against the plan, while ■ ;hers described the new stan- ards as rules that may bring a ow but sure upgrading of the iucational levels of student- hletes. The plan says that athletes tempting to enter college must implete a “core curriculum” of least 1 1 academic courses with 2.(1 grade point average, and He courses must include three t English, two in mathematics, m in social science and two in atural or physical science. In Jdition, the athlete must score glfeast 700 out of a possible ,(i00 on the Scholastic Aptitude est verbal and math sections or total score of 15 on the Amer- an College Test. IT»»f»-»t /\i aiffertl Enforcement of the rule will sgin Aug. 1, 1986. Jte ■PP onents hke Dr. Jesse rlc ®!one,. president of Southern Inhersity, protested the mea- itieni-'jre as being a racist move f e ' leant to take opportunities l 111 ' 1 iva\ from disadvantaged ^ " efl iitiorities. - “1 hope that black athletes F 01 cross the United States got this aessage,” Stone said after the Charles Thornton: Athletes mustn’t major in eligibility proposal passed. “You’ve been denied an opportunity. These institutions don’t want you.” By “these institutions,” Stone referred to the 277 NCAA Divi sion I schools that will be affected by the new standards. Just minutes after voting overwhelmingly in favor of No. 48, the delegates passed No. 49B, which states that a school may provide financial aid to a high school graduate “who fails to have the minimum 2.0 in the core curriculum and the re quired test score, but (his first year) shall count as one of his/ her four seasons of eligibility.” The student-athlete cannot practice or play during his first year at the school. The discussion and debate of Jan. 1 1 included negative state ments by several black educators who considered the proposal “racially and regionally discrimi natory.” On the other hand, the plan received kudos from sup porters, who saw the new stan dards as a step toward impro ving the nation’s system of high er education. Of the record-setting 1,500 delegates attending the conven tion, four were from Texas A&M: Charles J. Thornton, associate athletic director; Dr. Thomas Adair, chairman of the Athletic Council and Texas A&M’s faculty representative to the Southwest Conference; Kay Don, assistant athletic director for women, and Dr. Charles H. Samson, a Texas A&M profes sor, a member of the NCAA Di vision I Round Table and chair man of the NCAA nominating committee. The Texas A&M delegation didn’t vote for No. 48, but chose to back No. 51, which estab lished the core curriculum and the minimum grade point aver age, but excluded the test score requirement. As it turned out, the passage of No. 48 did away with the necessity for a vote on No. 51. However, the Texas A&M de legates did vote for No. 49B. And Thornton says the com bination of No. 48 and 49B should be a step in the right dire ction. “We just need to do a better job for our athletes,” Thornton said. “There have been too many athletes who have ma jored in eligibility once they’ve gotten into college, and not only have they not gotten a degree, but they haven’t received an education either.” Thornton, who has been at Texas A&M for a year after coming from the University of Alabama, said No. 48 may see modifications during the next year or two. “There will probably have to be adjustments to the proposal during one of the next two years’ conventions,” he said. “I think it’s unfortunate that it got to be a racial issue, but there was prob ably no way around it. “We have four years to imple ment it, so I’ve got to think that, through osmosis, if you’re a stu dent-athlete and you’ve got to “Just how long has Barry been waiting for his ride?” There’s a more dependable way to get there. 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Start inn; in 1986, a total of 277 NCAA Division I schools will have nenY entrance requirements for incoming student-athletes. Those who hope to compete during their freshman year will have tot \ (1) Score a minimum of 700 on the SAT or 15 on the ACT. (2) Maintain a 2.0 grade point average in a “core curriculum.” take these (core curriculum) courses, you’re going to learn something from them.” Adair, a professor in the De partment of Physics, said that although he and his fellow Texas A&M delegates didn’t vote for No. 48, they believe it’s a good rule. “We are very much in favor of it and will support it and work to see that it’s supported from all levels,” Adair said. “We are cer tainly heading in that direction anyway. “I personally prefer the (proposal) without the SAT re quirement because I would like to look at class ranking as a crite rion. I believe that is a better indicator than raw SAT score. We agreed that we would sup port No. 51, but as it turned out, we didn’t vote on it. I would have been greatly disappointed if we’d come away from the con vention and not passed a signifi cant academic proposal.” Adair said a great deal of the push for passage of the new academic guidelines resulted from efforts of the American Council on Education, which submitted the proposal to the NCAA through the body’s gov erning council. “I see it as a positive step,” Adair said. “It’s a signal to the high schools, the counselors and the high school athletes that they must better prepare themselves for college. You’ve got to give the high school counselors and students the opportunity to satisfy the requirements.” Under Nos. 48 and 49B, a school may allow any student- athlete to attend its institution. But if he hasn’t met core curri culum and test score require ments* he can’t participate in practices or in games. “The NCAA rules have now become much stiffer,” Adair said. “Some schools have changed their admissions stan dards for athletes ... we have re vamped our standards for admitting athletes.” See NCAA page 13 E-Systems continues the tradition of the world’s great problem solvers. Unquestionably, Leonardo da Vinci possessed one of the world’s great minds. Not only re nowned as a painter and sculp tor, da Vinci also applied his exceptional talents to the me chanics of flight, to cartography for planning military campaigns, and even astronomy. Today, scientists and engi neers at E-Systems continue the tradition by expanding the practi cal application of advanced tech nology. 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