SDSU President Vows to Boost Athletes’ Academic Standards

Addressing a problem he has studied for nearly a year, San Diego State University President Thomas Day has issued a directive to upgrade academic standards for athletes.

Among the directive’s goals:

--to reduce the number of student-athletes “specially admitted” to the university;

--ban most “special admits” from competition in athletics during their first year;

--limit the amount of time athletes can spend on academic probation and still retain their eligibility;

--encourage athletes to take courses that fulfill graduation requirements rather than eligibility requirements.

San Diego State University coaches will be briefed of the directive at a March 1 meeting, Athletic Director Fred Miller said Saturday.

Day said he saw a need to formally update the university policy regarding academics and athletics.

“This has been a policy I’ve been working on for almost a year,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of careful thought on this, and now I’ve acted.”

Miller said he and several others have been working on the new policy with Day for nearly a year after an internal study of the athletic department was completed.

“Some of the things that came up were things we didn’t like to see,” Miller said.

One of those included the number of “special admissions” being awarded athletic scholarships. A student-athlete is considered a “special admit” if he has a lower-than-allowed grade-point average, too low of an SAT or ACT score or if he has failed to take necessary courses in high school.

The most noticeable change will be the reduction of the number of scholarships given to “special admits.” According to Miller, Day’s directive will cut the total “special admits” athletic scholarships awarded to 8% from the current 12% to 14% of athletic scholarships awarded.

“(The number of special admits) got to be too large,” Miller said. “It was not in keeping with the standards of the total university. We needed to keep them in line with each other. The public is concerned with the graduation rates of athletes vs. students in general, and we have to be sensitive to that.”

Furthermore, under the new standards, “special admits” would not be eligible for competition during their freshmen years--even if they meet NCAA eligibility requirements. There would be a few exceptions.

“Special admits aren’t eligible their first year here, anyway, generally speaking,” Miller said. “For all intents and purposes, that’s what we already do when we redshirt our freshman class in football. That gives them an advantage academically, emotionally, physically and financially.

“The President’s Commission has gone on record as saying it wants to move toward freshman ineligibility,” Miller said. “I think that will pop loose at the next convention in January and freshmen will be ineligible.”

Although SDSU coaches have been formally briefed, football coach Al Luginbill, women’s tennis coach Carol Plunkett and men’s and women’s soccer coach Chuck Clegg all downplayed the changes.

“My reaction is, it’s the same since I took over the football program in November 1988,” Luginbill said. “Everything (Day) has done has been to make a better environment for the student-athlete to graduate. I have no problems with it at all.”

Said Plunkett: “Just because he has put it on paper doesn’t mean it’s different from the standard he’s always had. It’s like old news. It probably seems all-of-a-sudden to people not in the (athletic) department, but I think there has been a great awareness among all coaches to have athletes succeed academically for a very long time.”

Clegg said he had been alerted to the changes and figured the reason was because NCAA presidents are increasing academic pressure for universities across the nation.

“The impact for us is that it reinforces the standards (athletes) should be expected to achieve,” Clegg said. “

Beginning in the fall of 1992, student-athletes who are on academic probation at SDSU for two consecutive semesters will be declared ineligible for one year. Students at SDSU are put on academic probation if their GPA is lower than 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Currently, student-athletes at SDSU follow the Western Athletic Conference guidelines, which require them to have a 1.65 GPA after their first two semesters, a 1.75 after four semesters, a 1.85 after six, a 1.95 after eight and a 2.05 after 10.

“Obviously, by 1992 we’ll be beefing up our academic support program as well,” Miller said.

Also, student-athletes will be encouraged to take courses fulfilling graduation requirements rather than eligibility standards. And the athletic department will pay for just one special summer or winter academic session.

“We do that already,” Miller said. “If you run into trouble once, we’ll help you out. After that, you’re on your own.”

Miller said the graduation rate for SDSU athletes within five years of entering school is in the “low 20% range.” The national average for 287 Division I schools, according to NCAA figures, is 48%.

Times staff writer Curt Holbreich contributed to this report.