Critics who claim Hail Mary passes and 3-point buzzer beaters come at the expense of term papers and final exams may need a new argument, because according to a recent study, supposed “dumb jocks” actually graduate at a slightly higher rate than the student body at large.
Sixty-three percent of student-athletes who entered college in 2000 on athletic scholarships to the nation’s 318 Division I schools graduated within six years, compared to 62 percent of non-student-athletes over the same period, according to a National Collegiate Athletic Association Graduation Success Rates study released Oct. 30.
The report bases the rates on federal statistics calculated by the Education Department, which does not factor in students who transfer to attend other colleges.
“The public tends to focus on high-profile sports when it discusses student-athletes not performing well academically,” said NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Kearns. “The truth is, student-athletes learn very quickly to manage their time efficiently and effectively.”
According to the report, the graduate rate for student-athletes at all NCAA schools, regardless of division, has remained steady at around 77 percent over the past 10 years, sometimes exceeding the rest of the student population by 14 points.
Men’s basketball players graduated at a relatively low 46 percent rate, though, while football players graduated only 55 percent of the time.
Kearns attributes this statistic to the often-fruitless allure of professional sports.
“In high-profile sports, these student-athletes are told by others if they can go pro in these sports, they will be set for life,” she said. “Only less than 2 percent of basketball or football student-athletes go pro, but the perception is that it is possible to make a career out of it. So these student-athletes take their coursework less seriously than those who have a ‘back-up plan’ in another field.”
Phil Decarlo, director of Student-Athlete Support Services, a center that provides workshops and counseling to Boston University’s roughly 300 student-athletes, said they have a hard time juggling coursework and training.
“Time management is a big issue,” Decarlo said. “Twenty hours of training every week, traveling, classes and social events means student-athletes struggle to succeed academically.”
Eighty percent of BU student-athletes who entered as freshmen in 2000 graduated within six years, compared to 81 percent of the overall student population, the report states.
“Usually [the graduation rate of athletes] is much higher,” said BU Athletic Director Mike Lynch. “But because we discontinued football, many football players transferred out of BU to attend other colleges, and the federal rate does not include that.”
Lynch said misconceptions about athletes’ classroom aptitude stem from media coverage.
“Media outlets like to focus on at least one or two bad stories every year,” he said. “Most student-athletes actually do quite well in school.”