By Amie Dahnke
Division I men's basketball programs across the nation may be facing mandatory summer school if an NCAA proposition passes.
The suggestions for the mandatory schooling, which come from the Men's Basketball Academic Enhancement Working Group, would require incoming freshmen basketball student-athletes to take three credits of classes and complete a life-skills course during the summer in order to be eligible in the fall. With each consecutive summer, basketball players would be required to complete six credits.
Although the suggestion is not yet finalized, the group figures to include in its final report due to the NCAA Board of Directors by the end of the year a plan that focuses on academic rigor, campus acclimation and access to coaches as an integrated avenue aimed at improving academic performance and graduation rates.
Division I men's basketball is notoriously known for its bad-boy culture, filled with exploitation and poor academic standards, according to Portland head coach Eric Reveno.
"The culture of our sport is not a positive one for these kids," Reveno said. "Recruiting, lots of money and the pressure to go pro make the culture bad."
Additionally, men's basketball consistently holds one of the lowest GPAs of all Division I sports nationwide. The majority of programs struggle to meet the NCAA 2.0 GPA minimum. Although UP's men's basketball team has the lowest GPA of all Pilot athletic teams, the program boasts a 2.9 average.
Currently, two thirds of the 82 Division I basketball teams, including UP, already require its players to attend summer school.
"We bring all of our guys in early," Reveno said. "I think it's great that we're able to do it already. We have the budget to do it and so we do."
The low GPA is attributed to programs across the nation that recruit high school players who aren't academically capable of attending the institution.
"What you get is a bunch of kids playing basketball who aren't capable of the school work," Reveno said. 'The requirement would help deter that problem, but it doesn't mean I'm for it."
Reveno doesn't believe that the NCAA has the clout to use a national mandate to tell institutions how to teach their students.
Lauren Brownrigg, director of compliance and student services, agrees with Reveno.
"It could take away some of our institutional discretion on the matter," Brownrigg said via e-mail.
Senior Daniel Rhine, president of UP's Student Athlete Advisory Committee, also agrees that the NCAA is extending its power into the academic arena.
"The NCAA is completely overstepping its boundaries as an institution," Rhine said. "While they have the power to make sure we athletes complete our degree in an orderly fashion, they don't have the power to tell our schools how to accomplish that."
Rhine attended a West Coast Conference SAAC meeting last week at Santa Clara University to discuss and vote on this suggestion. Rhine voted against the suggestion, based off of the feedback from the men's basketball team at UP.
"The main vibe from the men's team was under no circumstances allow it," Rhine said. "The WCC SAAC agreed on that, too, on the basis that the mandate is not in the best interest of the student-athletes."
Concerns mentioned during the conference SAAC meeting included athlete welfare, the ability to play for one's national team and the ability to hold summer internships, according to Rhine.
Although Brownrigg and Reveno both hold reservations for the long-run outcome of the suggestions, both agree that it has the potential to help retention and graduation rates for men's basketball student-athletes.
Jasonn Hannibal, a sophomore music major and center on UP's men's basketball team, finds that the work load at UP can be difficult, especially during season.
"Academics were hard when I first started out at UP," Hannibal said. "I came to UP with a 2.1 high school GPA and found myself struggling in the beginning."
Hannibal thinks that mandatory summer school would help ease the pressures of academics during season and allow for more off-season training.
"Summer school is good because you get more training and more time to work on your games and getting bigger, stronger and faster," Hannibal said. "Also, it allows you to lighten your class load in the future."
The drawbacks of summer school, according to Hannibal, include "not being able to see your family, getting bored at times and staying focused."
A nationwide SAAC meeting will be held in early December to determine the next step of the suggestion. If the committee passes the suggestion, it will be voted on by coaches and administrators throughout the nation. However, if the committee decided to veto the suggestion, the BAEG will be forced to rewrite its plan.
