New rule may mean influx of imbeciles

Commentary

Athletes, particularly male ones, have a reputation of being a bit dim above the shoulders. And thanks to the NCAA, the light bulb that flickers in the heads of many collegiate athletes will soon fade to darkness.

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors decreed Thursday that standardized tests will be irrelevant for student athletes if their grade point averages are high enough.

According to the new ruling, an athlete coming out of high school can be granted eligibility with an SAT score of only 400 as long as the student has a GPA of at least 3.5.

400.

A mentally disabled cantaloupe could score a 400, and I'm not exaggerating. Four hundred points are granted for literally coming into contact with the test paper.

The board's reasoning for the elimination of standardized tests stems from studies showing that high school classroom performance is a better indicator of college success than standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT.

It's flooded with good intentions. From correcting an alleged cultural, racial and economic bias in standardized tests to giving poor test-takers a chance, the board has taken steps to ensure any student, no matter how chromosomally challenged, will have a shot at college athletics.

But it has forgotten something rather important - grades are much more likely to be doctored than SAT scores.

Grades are entirely arbitrary, and at schools where high school sports are considered more important than academics, a 3.5 GPA is about as credible as an Iraqi election.

As of late, large universities such as Alabama have been put on probation for allegedly paying high school coaches to direct their players toward the paying institutions.

But Monday's decision will bring about an entirely new and much more wretched form of academic fraud. High school coaches will be paid not only to encourage their players to attend a specific university, but also to influence teachers to give athletes grades they do not deserve.

Before the ruling, teachers had to stand up against immoral coaches who wanted passing grades for eligibility in high school. But now the brave souls who believe high school students should know that Brussels is the capital of Belgium and not a vegetable will have the deck stacked against them even further.

High school academic fraud is the reason athletes are perceived as stupid. They are not born stupid but are rendered mentally impotent because they are not forced to do anything in school, and the board's decision, which takes effect in August 2003, will make the problem even worse.

Not to mention what this will do to graduation rates. Though the board lowered the requirements to get into college, it raised the requirements to stay in college. When the change takes effect, student-athletes will need 24 hours of credit before playing their second year.

That is a ton of hours for someone who cannot do fractions.

"In retrospect, everyone thinks they've loosened up the rules, but the other end of that rule is actually stiffer," said SIU head football coach Jerry Kill. "So if you take that chance and that chance doesn't work out, you're held accountable when that kid leaves your school and your graduation rates are not very good. I know our athletic department's not going to stand for that."

According to SIU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk, the greatest challenge for an athletic department is to get an athlete through the system and get them graduated.

But Kowalczyk is not ruling out recruiting players who fall below the previous minimum SAT score of 820, so it is very likely other schools will do the same - and other schools may not have the academic emphasis of the SIU athletic department.

"We're going to do what the NCAA is permitting," Kowalczyk said. "We don't want to be at a disadvantage compared to other institutions, but we also want to get student-athletes in here that are a good fit for the university and that we can graduate.

"I think what this legislation does is provide people a little more leeway in who they bring in. I think the door is open a little wider at this point."

The door is not only wide open; it has a tractor beam of mediocrity hidden behind it.

If a high school player received any decent education, he should be able to score at least an 820. The average SAT score is 1020, and it's doubtful an athlete who scores 200 points below that could ever be a successful college student - legitimately, that is.

And for those that cannot, tough luck. No non-athlete would ever make it into a school with an abysmal score, let alone with a scholarship. This is a college, not a farm team.

The removal of standardized test requirements eliminates any incentive for athletes in morally questionable high schools to learn anything.

The already low bar of college admission has been pounded into the ground, so don't be surprised if academic fraud and low graduation rates become even more rampant in college as well as high school.

The NCAA has certainly laid the foundation for it.

Michael is a junior in journalism. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Egyptian.