Jr y23,i5j : Thursday, January 23, 1992 Pe* ^ the The Battalion Page 5 The quality of education . . . Questions arise in NCAA reforms ions erent resj) from | w °uld h a , 1 Ferreira'! ess. f two breal y°^oth, 15 -40 in h ien wonih ski Pped nr °e'sfo If 'st of eigh xiched ivi| 1 ti consee. re served ecently, ,• ! defensivi 5 volleyht the net. fj t and foot inst Beckei te P too lat en he cant n. Whenh shots, Fe eked the m the has d him. >t times a hdn'tagret ‘d the com has show ns to make ime on the to remem ts, not hi< ; I- tty impor- p/' he said »ing to talk a the court, ocus more Vloore I 20 as esday h sev- ■ading o help 3. e sec- oting. upset ly 40 linute 12 re- ) min- nons, a 6-10, ar and ding a e free an 8- ouple Rice a Y EDS ES r ER T he 1992 NCAA Convention has met and a number of significant changes will be implemented into the structure of inter collegiate athletics in the next three years. With the implementation of these changes, you will see a leveling off process as the changes take effect. Perhaps the most controversial change is in the area of initial athletic scholarship. The new initial eligibility index increases the re quired grade point average in the core cur riculum from a 2.0 to a 2.5 with a sliding SAT or ACT scale (based on a minimum 700 SAT score or a minimum 17 ACT score). In layman's terms, in order to qualify for a scholarship a student-athlete must have a 2.5 grade point average and a minimum 700 SAT or 17 ACT score. The GPA must be cal culated in 13 core courses as opposed to the current requirement of 11 core courses. A student-athlete with a 2.25 GPA would have to score at least an 800 on the SAT or a 19 on the ACT. A student athlete with a 2.0 would have to score a 900 on the SAT or a 21 on the ACT. As you can imagine, this sliding scale has been both praised and criticized. I am totally in favor of raising the number BARONE on Basketball By Tony Barone Head Coach, Texas A&M of core courses from 11 to 13, but I struggle with using the 2.5 GPA as an index. Essen tially, we are asking a student-athlete to have at least 50 percent of his or her grades fall in the "B" range. I hope we are not missing the real key to education. Every teacher should be con cerned about the quality of education in his or her classroom and it concerns me when numbers are assigned to determine whether a kid is learning or not. We certainly need standards for compari son purposes, but I hope we don't miss the main point — are we giving kids a chance to learn? Learning should be fun and some times I wonder if we are doing a good job in that area. These new guidelines will take effect in 1995. The challenge will be a huge one but is probably a necessary step toward re-estab lishing our perspective. I hope the young freshmen in high school pay close attention to these guidelines. It would be a shame for a kid to be labeled as a "non-qualifier' because he or she did not know the rules. As a basketball coach, I am pleased that the convention gave us back our contest ex emptions. We are going to be able to play one home exhibition game against a foreign team and one home exhibition game against HSA Club team. These exhibition games do not force us to miss class time and because they are home games, we have the potential to make money. The players also enjoy the opportunity to compete against foreign ath letes. The major thrust of this year's convention was to reaffirm the concept of the student- athlete. I hope by demanding more of our high school students that they will be better prepared for college. The real focus now is on the quality of education being offered in school systems across the country. Let's hope we are doing a good job. UT recruits jailed for MIP AUSTIN (AP) - Two prized high school quarterback recruits, who have verbally committed to attend the Uni versity of Texas, spent about nine hours in jail after being ar rested for possession of alcohol, authorities said Tuesday. Ryan Fien and Cody Dana- her, who are both under the le gal drinking age of 21, told the Austin American-Statesman the drinks they were holding when arrested Saturday night were bought for them at a bar on Sixth Street, Austin's nightclub district. A minor in possession of al cohol is a Class C misde meanor, punishable by up to $200. A clerk in the office or the Justice of the Peace handling the case said a court day would not be set for about five days. The two athletes, who Sun day committed to play for Texas, were held in jail because they lacked proper identifica tion, said Larry Sullivan, chief of enforcement for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commis sion. Danaher, from Calallen High in Corpus Christi, is con sidered among the top recruits in the state. Fien is ranked as one of the nation's best quarter back prospects. Hickey aims high in 1992 Continued from Page 3 goals for himself. "I really don't have any to be honest," he said. "I just want to do the best I can with my ability. My goals are the team goals." Yesterday marked the end of two-a-day practices. Wednesday, the team started practicing once a day until the season begins, Feb. 3, against Stephen F. Austin State University. Hickey said he will concentrate on the Aggies and not worry about the Olympics. He will be notified in May to find out if he is one of the 45 players to make the first Olympic cut. He said the team is cut down to 25 players in June and they tour the country playing against different colleges and playing in 16 major league parks. After that, 20 players are selected to participate in the Olympics, which start Aug. 5. Although he has no personal goals, Hickey would settle for a gold medal around his neck and a national championship ring on his finger. That would make 1992 a golden year for Hickey. Mavericks Softball team readies for season stop losing streak at 11 DALLAS (AP) - Dallas end ed its 11-game losing streak as rookie Doug Smith stored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quar ter to help the Mavericks erase an 11-point deficit and beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-116 on Wednesday night. Rolando Blackman added 20 points and Fat Lever had 17 for Dallas, while Derek Harper con tributed 16 assists and scored his 10,000th NBA pioint on a third- quarter layup. Dale Ellis led the Bucks with 23 points and Moses Malone had 19 points and 11 re bounds. Dallas took its first lead since the second quarter when Lever's 3-pointer with 3:31 to play made it 105-102. Malone converted a pair of free throws to trim the lead to one, then Smith, who had his highest-scoring game as a pro, scored on a layup with 2:25 left to put Dallas ahead 107-104. Jay Humphries' 3-pointer with 2:00 left pulled Milwaukee into a tie, but Lever's basket sent Dallas ahead with 1:43 left and Lever added a pair of free throws with 1:20 remaining for a 111-107 advantage. After Humphries converted two foul shots with 1:16 remain ing, Rodney McCray's three- point play with 55.8 seconds left made it 114-109. Milwaukee led by 11 at half time and Humphries scored 10 third-quarter points to help the Bucks to a 90-79 lead after three quarters. The Battalion News Services The Lady Aggie softball team began its spring workouts Wednesday in preparation for the 1992 season. Coach Bob Brock, in his eleventh season as A&M's head coach, is excited about his team's chances this year. "We're happy to be back," Brock said. "We all look in real good shape. Our pitchers are looking good already. I'm just happy everyone's back safe and sound." The top returner for the Aggies is Missi Young, a junior second team All-American from Santa Fe, Tex., who led the nation in wins last season with 36. Also returning is sophomore Jennifer McFalls from Grand Prairie, Texas, who as a freshman. led the team in hitting with a .386 average. Other top returnees include: Dawn Wuthrich, a junior from Texas City who hit .317 last year, and Sharia Cannon, a junior from Arlington who hit .307 with 45 RBIs. The top newcomers are Jen nifer Mortensen, a pitcher from Torrance, California, and catcher Tammie Demchuck from Oxnard, California, two of the nation's top recruits. The Lady Aggies begin the regular season on February 13 when they travel to Arizona for a tournament which includes de fending national’champions Ari zona and other top teams around the nation. "We have to go real quick be cause we have one of the top tour naments (in Arizona) in three weeks," Brock said. Battalion file photo Coach Bob Brock is ready to begin his 11 th season at A&M. Foster Continued from Page 3 solid program sound good for the Aggies, playing a good team outside of the state of Texas also has an appeal. Now that Arkansas has left, the entire Southwest Conference is stationed within the borders of the Lone Star State. A possible bowl game and clashes with LSU, Tulsa, Missouri and Louisville would be the only games with out of state oppo nents on the schedule. And ev eryone knows you don't get re spect by beating up your brother. You have to whip the kid from the other side of town to become well known. Not only does it help a pro gram to play teams from across the nation, it helps to be exposed on national television. R.C. Slocum's talent-rich Ag gies of 1991 received almost no respect until a 44-7 dismember ing of TCU on ESPN's Thursday Night Football. As Horned Frog players were being carted off the field on stretchers, the nation started to take notice of the pun ishing Aggie defense. A stellar performance in the Pigskin Classic would beat an even louder drum, since it is on national television and is one of the opening games of the 1992 season. Basically, the Aggies have nothing to lose in this game but the game itself. And I don't think that will happen. Without this game, A&M could go unde feated and still go to the Cotton Bowl without a shot at the na tional title. The impact of winning this game on national television fol lowed by an undefeated season, however, could put the Aggies among the top two or three teams in the nation. If that were the scenario, the number one ranked team wouldn't have a de fense in turning down an invita tion to Dallas for a New Year's Day showdown. As unlikely as it may sound, a shot at the number one team in the nation may be just what the Aggies have been waiting for. presents... 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