Panel mulls credit hours for athletes

Officials from the Presidential Committee on Athletics met Thursday to discuss making possible changes to the number of credit hours student-athletes must fulfill.

Fred Mims, associate athletics director for student-athlete affairs, said the NCAA requires 48 credit hours from each student after five years, whereas Big Ten schools require 51 hours.

“As it turns out, the percentages of success for student-athletes after college are quite high,” he said. “But I think we can improve these numbers.”

Mims said the main focus on student-athletes should be to allow them the time they need to not only handle school and practice but to tend to their injuries.

“The one thing we all forget is injuries,” he said. “It’s not fair for students to have to leave practice and immediately have to get right to their school work. That’s why we need to allot time for them to take care of their bodies.”

Mims said the reason most student-athletes leave their teams is because they don’t get enough opportunities to perform.

No decisions were made Thursday; however, the committee is set to revisit the issue in the spring.

Committee acts on academic standards

Two weeks ago, the Academic Achievement Committee got together and identified several areas in which the committee needs to take action in compliance with academic standards.

The committee decided coaches needed to meet and discuss the academic standards of their athletes at the start of the year, rather than midway into the season, so they may have more success later on.

Sue Moorhead, a UI associate professor of nursing, conducted a survey of student-athletes to judge the conditions in which they train. Moorhead brought her findings to the Presidential Committee on Athletics on Thursday.

“The condition that student athletes voted highest for was the quality of the staff support they receive,” she said. “The lowest was the condition of the equipment that they use.”

The Athletics Committee agreed to alter the policy to require coaches to meet with student-athletes earlier in the year.

Moorhead said she would meet with the Academic Achievement Committee again in the spring to get an update on the academic success of student-athletes after the implementation of this new policy.

— by Daniel Valentin