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
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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
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I'v >•>. • -11
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