Men’s Basketball: An Environment for Student-Athlete Success – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NCAA Division I Academic Enhancement Group spoke to OSU faculty and staff Wednesday
COLUMBUS, Ohio The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group spoke at a luncheon in Ohio Stadium Wednesday. Kevin Lennon, vice president of membership services at the NCAA, and Todd Petr, NCAA managing director of research, conducted a presentation and answered questions in front of Ohio State University faculty and athletics department staff closely associated with the men’s basketball program.
The presentation examined academic success in several NCAA sports, with a highlight on performance figures for men’s basketball. The NCAA is in the midst of introducing new standards and measurements for its institutions’ success in men’s basketball, as well as new possible consequences if programs continuously fail to meet standards.
Gene Smith, Ohio State director of athletics, opened the presentation. He is a member of one of the subcommittees of the NCAA Academic Enhancement Group.
“We have a national challenge in men’s basketball,” Smith, in his fourth year at Ohio State, said. “The NCAA has decided to be a leader in addressing the problem. We look at what we do in higher education and as well as in K-12 programs. I am on the academic subcommittee, relative to academic preparedness. It is refreshing that all of the conversations I have been in so far, we (Ohio State) are doing a lot the things that were asked of a lot of the schools nationally.”
The Ohio State men’s basketball coaching staff also was on hand and participated in the discussion. Head coach Thad Matta spoke to a necessary improvement in the academic culture at the high school level. In addition, John Groce, assistant head coach, added how early commitments by recent Ohio State recruits have positively impacted future Buckeyes and have led to improved academic success as they finish scholastic coursework.
“It is great that the NCAA came in today,” Matta said. “The presentation was educational across the board of what is transpiring across the country in our sport, starting at the ground level.”
Since Matta took over the Ohio State program in 2004, his staff, with the help of OSU’s Student-Athlete Support Services (SASSO), has instituted several academic enhancements that have helped academic success among student-athletes and helped men’s basketball players work through the rigorous demands of playing a Division I schedule.
Midweek games served as a hot topic during the presentation Wednesday. The Division I schedule calls for many week night games during peak academic periods. Just last week, Ohio State played at Northwestern in a 9 p.m. EST tip on a Wednesday. When accounting for the travel battle with winter weather, return trips to campus do not arrive until the early hours of the morning on many occasions. All of those factors make succeeding academically all the more challenging.
For that reason, Matta initiated what is affectionately called “Younkin on Wheels” which includes an academic counselor on each midweek trip during the season. SASSO is housed in the Younkin Success Center on the Ohio State campus.
“I travel with the team during midweek games and help create an academic culture for the student-athletes,” Chad McClellan, academic counselor for men’s basketball, said. “On the road, the athletic culture kind of takes care of itself, but Coach Matta believed my presence on the road would help instill that academic culture.”
McClellan, a former baseball player at Florida State, is in his third season with the men’s basketball team and currently is a doctoral candidate in the higher education program at OSU. In addition to counseling Buckeye student-athletes in Younkin, he coordinates all academic sessions on the road.
“I help the guys stay on top of their weekly responsibilities,” McClellan said. “I establish times for study tables on the road. I bring laptop computers for coursework. Just last week, I proctored an exam for Eric Wallace (a freshman on the Ohio state men’s basketball roster). It encompasses a lot.”
Ohio State is fortunate to have the opportunity to offer services like McClellan’s on a daily basis to all its 900-plus student-athletes.
“There are a number of us (athletics departments) who can provide academic support service like Ohio State has, summer school (financial) aid like we have and put in place the support structure that these young people need,” Smith said. “There are a lot of schools that don’t provide summer school aid. There are a lot of schools that don’t provide on-demand tutorial service. There are a lot of things a lot of schools don’t have. We are very fortunate and we take full advantage for our student-athletes.”
Since Matta has taken over the men’s basketball program at Ohio State, he has helped guide many Buckeyes to their undergraduate degree.
Brandon Fuss-Cheatham and Tony Stockman from Matta’s first squad in 2004-05, both graduated shortly after finishing their careers. Terence Dials, the 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year, and Matt Sylvester, who knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer vs. No. 1 Illinois in March 2006, both have gone on to complete their degrees.
Last season, Ron Lewis graduated, but missed his commencement because he was an integral part of Ohio State’s 10th appearance in the NCAA Final Four.
