Daily Egyptian F02
Saluki Athletes get an 'A' for academic effort
Kristina DailingDaily Egyptian
Athletes need more than just a fluid golf swing or a great vertical jump to succeed in an athletic program.
They also need to be able to handle the rigorous life of a college student.
Overall, student-athletes at SIU averaged a 2.97 GPA during the spring semester, with 179 out of the 305 athletes recording a mark of 3.0 or higher.
"We are very proud of what we have accomplished, and we intend to keep improving," said SIU Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk.
The Athletic Department at SIU has had a tradition of academic excellence and intends to continue the trend.
"With every athletic program, your goal should always be to graduate all of your student-athletes," Kowalczyk said.
Coaches and other Athletic Department officials help train students in athletics, but they continue to stress the importance of the athlete's success in the classroom.
"As a coaching staff, we try to stress upon our athletes that a degree is the most important thing," said SIU men's track and field head coach Cameron Wright.
The Athletic Department's coordinator of student services, Kristina Therriault, keeps coaches updated on athlete's academic standings. The department sends out a request for information to the faculty to receive progress reports at the six- and 12-week marks of the semester for their athletes.
"I think it's a good statement on what we are doing as a program, what our coaches are doing, what our academic support services are doing to help our student athletes achieve and fulfill their goals academically as well as athletically," Kowalczyk said.
Many coaches work with the students if there is a problem with a class or a low GPA. The athletic program and coaches will set up tutoring or talk with a professor for a struggling athlete.
"I'm very good about if we need to miss practice to go to a study session because they are really struggling, I allow them to do that," said SIU softball head coach Kerri Blaylock.
Coaches also let students know during the recruiting process that academics are the most important part of being a Saluki.
"Several times we've recruited kids that we thought could help us on the track, but in school it was too much of a question mark, so we stopped recruiting them," Wright said.
Coaches receive a recruits' GPA from the high school or community college they attended. They also receive the athlete's SAT and ACT scores so they are aware of the student's capabilities.
"I always tell kids, 'you know, you may only be capable of a B average, but I want you to attain that B average,'" Blaylock said.
Although the high GPAs of student-athletes are important, the Athletic Department and coaches want to achieve more.
"At SIU, [athletes] happen to have a much greater graduation rate than the institution as a whole," Kowalczyk said. "But to me that's not good enough, and we need to do a better job in graduating more of our student-athletes."
And the success of the athletes after they get their degree is part of what makes athletics an important part of the college experience.
"The best thing in the world for a coach is to get calls back from your athletes saying, 'Hey, I'm, doing well,'" Wright said.
Reporter Kristina Dailing can be reached at kdailing@dailyegyptian.com
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