Grade point averages are stressful for students to achieve, but when sports are thrown into the mix students-athletes are pressured more than than their classmates to perform.
If a student does not obtain a high enough GPA, they will be ineligible to play or practice for their sports team. Truly an athlete’s worst nightmare.
According to NCAA.com, the National Colligate Athletic Association will raise their GPA expectations in 2016. “For immediate access to competition, prospective student-athletes must achieve at least a 2.3 GPA and an increased sliding scale. For example, an SAT score of 1,000 requires a 2.5 high school core-course GPA for competition and a 2.0 high school core-course GPA for aid and practice.”
All colleges have a general rule their players must follow to be eligible to participate in their athletics. Keith Mondillo, Director of Athletics, at Gwynedd Mercy University, said, “In the student hand book all students are required to maintain a 2.0 in order to participate in any extra curricular activity. Playing a sport falls under those guidelines. Our students-athletes do well in school and their GPA tends to be higher than the general student population.”
Marywood University, Neumann University, and all colleges in the CSAC follow the same NCAA guidelines, which basically states that student-athletes cannot stoop below a 2.0 GPA if they want to continue to play.
Cabrini’s guidelines are no different from other colleges in their conference.
“I want all of our student athletes to be above a 2.0. I think that’s a pretty good place to be, but obviously we want higher GPAs than that because we always want to push everyone academically,” said Laura Patton, the Coordinator of Academic Services.
But would these athletes compete to obtain higher GPAs if they weren’t required by the school? GPA requirements were obviously made to motivate students to do well in school, because if they did not, their extra-curricular activities would pay the price.
“A lot of our athletes want to do well.,” Patton said. “I think there are a few that think they are here specifically just to play sports but I do think it (the GPA requirements) gives them a goal. It’s to prepare them for when they leave college.”
Student–athletes are students first. The grade point average demand is just a standard that students strive to achieve, similar to the goals they want to make during their sports.
“It’s not just about the athletics, it’s about preparing them for life after college,” Patton said. “A lot of our students feel the need to succeed on and off the field or court anyway.”
