A Proposal to Require a Higher GPA Requirement

for Student Athletes at West Allis Central High School

Najeal Young
July 2017

Introduction

In high school, the focus on athletics has become more and more prominent. In the 2013-

2014 school year, about 7.8 million (7,795,658 students to be exact) high school students were

participating in athletics, which was an increase of about 82,081 students from the past year

(NFHS). The amount of teenagers participating in sports continue to rise, yet the grade point

average (GPA) requirement to play sports for majority of schools is a 2.0, which is a C average.

In the past several years, there has been conflict of whether or not the GPA requirement to play

sports should either be increased or in fact decreased. In 2014, Roger Gonzalez of The News

Virginian wrote on how only 24 of the 132 school divisions in Virginia had a GPA requirement

for student athletes to play sports. Unfortunately, this is more common than we believe. There

are more school becoming lethargic in enforcing GPA requirements, which allows students who

have lower than a 2.0 average to continue to play sports. This proposal will include my methods

on how West Allis Central High School can promote a higher GPA requirement and how it can

benefit the student athletes in the long run.

Considering I am a former student athlete of West Allis and currently a basketball coach

at the school, I understand first hand how important grades are for student athletes. The

minimum requirement at West Allis is currently a C-, which is an average of a 1.7 GPA. On
average, about 6% of high school student athletes nationwide go on to play at the collegiate level

(NCAA) and yet the focus on the student aspect in student athlete has minimized substantially. It

is essential that high school athletics revert back to focusing more on creating well educated

athletes rather than focusing on winning games. Requiring students to maintain a higher GPA is

not only beneficial to them in more ways than one, but it teaches them more discipline as well as

time management skills.

Problem

When it comes to student athletes, there has been a constant debate on whether or not

athletics is more beneficial or detrimental to their academics. It has been argued that athletics can

take time away from a student's studies and can divert their focus from succeeding academically.

A study conducted by Pascarella, Bohr, Nora and Terenzini (1995) concluded that athletes tend

to fall behind their non-athletic counterparts. In the study, about 2,416 students took part in the

survey and the results found that male athletes, particularly football and basketball players,

struggled with English and Mathematics while female athletes struggled more with English

compared to non-athletes. This study also concluded that athletes tend to have more issues with

critical thinking skills.

Yet, it can be argued that sports actually improves a student's time management skill , can

improve their social skills, as well as give them motivation to attend class and take their grades

seriously. Athletes have always been stereotyped as the "dumb jock" due to how they are

portrayed in the media and people infer that academics is not the top priority for student athletes.

Yet, studies have shown that students who remain in sports throughout their high school career

tend to have GPAs higher than those of non-athletes (Hauser and Lueptow, 1978). It is important
that coaches continue to put an emphasis on education so that athletes have more outlets in case

they no longer participate in sports after high school.

Solution

The best way to implement the importance of education and grades to student athletes,

coaches and the school itself must enforce a GPA requirement as well as give student athletes the

tools to achieve the requirement. The GPA requirement at West Allis Central High School

should be a minimum of a 3.2, which is slightly under a B+ average. In order to implement this

requirement, there should be a hour study hall prior to any practice and there should be at least

two tutors for each subject in case a student needs help or clarification on a subject. The student

athlete must complete at least 50% of their homework during that hour in order to participate in

practice. If the student athlete does not complete the required amount of work within the hour,

then they must not only finish their work, but they must also sit out of practice and watch. In

addition to this students must have their teachers fill out an academic report every week so that

coaches can monitor their academic progress. If students are not meeting the standard then they

are on academic probation and must raise their current grade in order to be eligible to play again.

This requires students to put their academics first and gives students more options when it comes

to college instead of having to rely on athletics. It is important to be strict with these policies

because it requires student athletes to not only increase their time management skills but it also

teaches them discipline and how to work hard in their lives.

Implementation Timetable

With this new GPA requirement, coaches must:

Implement one full hour of study hall prior to practice

 Must have all student athletes fill out an academic log sheet every week on Friday. Log

sheet must be turned in before practice begins.

Must enforce all consequences if the athlete does not follow the new GPA policy

Tutors shall be provided during the study session hour for assistance in every subject.

There will be two tutors for each subject as well as any professor willing to stay after hours

in order to help. Within the school budget, each tutor will get paid $25 - $50 for every hour

they are present. Each tutor will also fill in a log sheet of who they assisted and what the

student may need more assistance in.

With this new GPA requirement, expect both students and parents to complain claiming

that the GPA requirement is set too high and is unattainable for students who spend more

than half of their day for both school and athletics. Some will argue that students will fall

under pressure and will not have time to study. Many believe that student athletes should be

able to put forth minimal effort academically and still be able to play sports. This reverts

back to the "dumb jock" stereotype that condemns students into believing that they do not

have to put their best foot forward when it comes to academics. Instead of focusing on the

student aspect of student athlete, people are more focused on winning games and getting

athletic scholarships which is acceptable until a student graduates from high school without

basic reading and mathematics skills. An athlete must demonstrate excellent academics

before being allowed to play any sport and reequiring a higher GPA requires students to push

themselves harder in order to maintain that GPA and it also makes their college applications

look more appealing than the simply average student athlete. The goal is to make sure every

student reaches college, whether through sports or academics and this GPA requirement

makes that goal more attainable.

Personnel

Najeal Young ( Summer League Basketball Coach)

Coach Dave Mlachnik (Boys' Varsity Basketball Coach)

Sandy Sikich (Boy's Diving Coach)

Christine Hansen (Girls' Varsity Basketball Coach)

Keith Ringelberg (Boy's Football Head Coach)

Chip Mackenzie (Athletic Director)

Dr. Amy Van Deuren (Principal)

Conclusion

Student athletes often are seen as "dumb jocks" who don't succeed in school outside of

athletics. This is because in majority of high schools around the nation, the GPA requirement for

students to participate in any sport is a 2.0 or C-. Setting a standard so low allows students to

become lazy with their studies, making them believe that minimal effort is acceptable. Many will

argue that student athletes already have enough on their plate with hours of practice and games,

therefore they do not need the extra stress with maintaining a higher GPA. Yet, what they fail to

realize is that an athlete is always a student first, therefore without maintaining an above average

GPA, it can become harder for them when it comes to getting accepted to colleges and other

programs. As coaches we need to bring back the importance of education and require our

students to push themselves. We do not expect our student athletes to give us average effort

when it comes to their sports, therefore we should not allow them to give average effort when it

comes to their education. Education is the top priority and requiring them to maintain a GPA
average of a B+ not only opens more doors for our students as far as college, but it also teaches

them how to discipline themselves and create better time management skills.

References

Gonzalezrgonzalez@newsvirginian.com, Roger. "GPA Standard Needed for High School

Sports." The Daily Progress. N.p., 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 July 2017.
Smeyers@ncaa.org. "Estimated Probability of Competing in College Athletics." NCAA.org - The
Official Site of the NCAA. N.p., 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 15 July 2017.
"High School Participation Increases for 25th Consecutive Year." NFHS. NFHS News, 30 Oct.
2014. Web. 15 July 2017.
Pascarella, E. T., Truckenmiller, R., Nora, A., Terenzini, P. T. (1999). Cognitive impacts of
intercollegiate athletic participation: Some further evidence. The Journal of Higher Education,
70(1), 1-26.
Klein, Tim. "Correlations Between High School Athletic Participation and Academic Performance." Thesis.
Dordt College, 2011. 2011. Web.