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Student athletes have more than just the game on their minds

Athletes juggle careers and academics

October 28, 2014
<p>Men's basketball junior guard Denzel Valentine studies on Oct. 23, 2014, at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center. He was studying for his Communication 225 class. Jessalyn Tamez/The State News </p>

Men's basketball junior guard Denzel Valentine studies on Oct. 23, 2014, at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center. He was studying for his Communication 225 class. Jessalyn Tamez/The State News

Photo by Jessalyn Tamez | The State News

Except they are not.

For student athletes, sports are often a 40-hour a week time commitment, and athletes are still expected to be full-time students and maintain grades that match the NCAA’s standards.

It might seem like a lot to manage, but that is why the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center exists for student athletes.

“We offer tutorial support. We offer counseling on major exploration,” said Director of Academic Services Todd Edwards. “On the student development side we focus on career services, career exploration and personal development.”

What are the majors?

For athletes, majors are varied across the board, but the most popular major is one that could be expected of someone who plays a sport.

Kinesiology is the top major for athletes across the department. Second on that list is interdisciplinary studies in social science, the third is finance.

No preference, a stereotypical major for other schools across the country, ranks 10th in popular majors for athletes.

“They’re really all over the board,” Edwards said. “We have a lot in the College of Education, especially kinesiology because of the connection there.”

Edwards said he has noticed changes over the years, but the changes are the same things he sees with the rest of the student body.

“Things kind of ebb and flow a little bit,” Edwards said.

Interdisciplinary studies is the second highest area of study for athletes. Edwards said this is because it gives students more options.

“Those are fairly well populated because of the flexibility,” he said. “Some kids might not be sure what they want to enter or didn’t get in the college of their choice.”

Grades for athletes have remained relatively high in comparison with the rest of the student body. The highest team GPA from last semester belonged to women’s golf with a 3.58. On the men’s side, it was men’s soccer with a 3.37.

As a department last fall, MSU athletes posted their second highest department-wide GPA in fall semester history with 3.05. It was the sixth straight semester the entire department posted a GPA over 3.0.

The Smith Center

One of the reasons for the success of the department is that MSU has a special building that is strictly for student athlete support.

The Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center was built in 1997 after a $2.5 million donation from former Spartan basketball player Steve Smith. The center is where athletes go for tutoring and advice from academic coordinators.

“Student athletes are a unique group really,” senior football punter Mike Sadler said. “People are at a lot of places academically, and (the centers does) a great job of tailoring their resources to fit the different places people are.”

Sadler was an Academic All-American last season and graduated early with a degree in applied engineering sciences with a 3.97 GPA last winter. He is finishing his remaining eligibility from the NCAA this season and working towards a doctorate of philosophy in economics.

“We have everything we need to succeed here,” he said. “You almost have to try to fail.”

Sadler explained the role of an academic coordinator, someone who serves as an academic advisor to players but also takes on a parental role during their transition to college.

“They’re pretty much like a second mom, to be honest,” he said. “We have three great ones, they do everything from making sure that we schedule our classes, to return our books or order new books. They make sure we are in class and accountable for everything.”

One of those coordinators is Mandy Chandler. She said that, for all sports, it is the job of these three individuals to serve as not just academic coordinators, but as people who can be used for advice on all aspects of college life as well.

“My favorite part of the job is building relationships with people and watching them grow,” she said. “Down the line a lot of the times, they come back and you get to see what they’ve done. That’s just awesome.”

The Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center is not for students who are not also athletes, but the academic coordinators said they know of other colleges at MSU that offer similar services to what they offer.

“We provide one-on-one tutoring and help rooms,” Director of Learning Retention Elliott Daniels said. “I know those are available in other places on campus.”

The main difference between athletes and non-athletes is that the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center can require athletes to attend tutoring sessions and advising appointments, while other colleges on campus cannot make students access their services.

“We certainly want to get our students beyond the transitional phase,” Edwards said. “We still can require them to use the services because we are in contact with the coaches.”

MSU offensive line coach Mark Staten has been to Ohio State and coached under Mark Dantonio at Cincinnati before coming to MSU. He said MSU ranks very favorably with everywhere he’s been.

“I think Todd (Edwards) and Elliot (Daniels) and Mandy just do an incredible job,” he said.

Football specific

MSU offensive line coach Mark Staten said coaches are very involved with the football team’s performance in the classroom. He said they are competitive with each other in the classroom as well.

“That’s the most important thing you can do here,” he said. “Getting that degree is the most important thing, and you don’t get a bill for it later.”

Staten said he addresses it with offensive linemen in meetings the same way he would if a player had make a mistake on the field.

“You call him out on it,” he said. “If he messes up on the field, we all see it. If one of our guys messes up on a test, we all know it as well.”

One of those linemen is senior Travis Jackson. He said freshmen athletes are required to do eight hours of tutoring when they step on campus.

“That’s something that was very time consuming, but you learned so much,” he said. “You want to get good grades.”

Some of the competitiveness that comes with getting good grades comes with the fact that they can determine whether or not you live off campus.

Jackson said after freshman year, privileges that come with living off campus are dictated by a certain GPA.

“There (are) different stipulations for where you can live,” he said. “Coach D does a great job of enforcing that.”

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