Student-athletes prove to have the smarts to achieve

A study conducted by the LBCC Athletics Department finds student athlete academic performance rivals non-athlete averages. The Athletics department, in partnership with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, intends to present the second annual Student-Athlete Study to the LBCC Board of Trustees on Tuesday, May 26. While not finalized, the research tabulated shows interesting trends.

"The study helps disprove common misconceptions about student athletes," said John Fylpaa, dean of the school of Physical Education and Athletics. According to Fylpaa, the purpose of the study is to give information back to the coaches and to dispel myths about the student athlete. According to Fylpaa, most of these myths center on poor academic performance of student athletes.

The study highlights athlete grade-point averages versus the non-athlete population, persistence rates, course success rates, units and completion rates, and the percentage of sports units versus academic units that athletes take per semester. The study includes all 336 currently enrolled student athletes. Data collected from the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters is used. The information is split further into in-season and off-season categories.

Research is ongoing. However, at this time, the data shows student-athlete grade-point averages being higher, on average, than the remainder of the student body. The non-student athlete grade-point averages only overcame athlete grade-point averages in one term between Fall 2004 and Spring 2008. In-season athletes scored the highest average grade-point average in Fall 2007 at 3.0. Off-season athletes averaged 2.97 GPA, while non-athlete students scored 2.67 GPA.

Fylpaa attributes these higher scores to the requirements of the athletics program. "Student athletes are some of the most regulated students on campus," he said. Fylpaa explained that in order to compete, student athletes must hold a minimum of 12 units, nine of which must be in academic courses. Moreover, student athletes must complete all coursework within five years.

The study also shows higher persistence rates of student-athletes. Fylpaa explained persistence as the measure of how many students return the following semester. "The student-athlete persists better than the general population."

One common misconception Fylpaa pointed out is that athletes take only physical education courses. The study shows that athletes, both in and off-season, take more units per semester than the general student. Physical education classes accounted for less than half of the totally classes taken per semester.

Mike Maloney, coordinator of the Student Athlete Success Center, spoke about academic goals for LBCC competitive athletes. "Most [student athletes] take 18 units with at least four academic classes per semester," Maloney said.

Math professor Sam Jalali said his observation was that healthy, athletic students tend to be more academically successful. Yet, he does not feel that his student athletes rate any higher academically than the average student. "Attendance is directly related to success," Jalali said. Healthy students tend to attend class more, but he does not see any correlation between athletic students and those who are a part of the athletics program.