激情快播

Fall 2014

“The days of the dumb jock are over.”

The discussion about the stereotype, however, isn鈥檛 over 鈥� not when it comes to student-athletes. And 激情快播 is unafraid to lead that discussion, even at a time when institutions are embroiled in academic scandals. So unafraid is head football coach George O鈥橪eary that he is willing to open his books.

鈥淗ere, I鈥檒l show you,鈥� he says as he walks to his desk. He picks up a thick, three-ring binder and points to the tabs that delineate offense, defense and special teams. Equally prominent is the academics tab. O鈥橪eary flips to that section and shows how each player鈥檚 academic progress is tracked.

Let other schools perpetuate the running jokes that 鈥渟tudent-athlete鈥� is an oxymoron or that 鈥渄umb jock鈥� is a redundancy. The Knights are on a different trajectory. 鈥淎cademics come first here,鈥� O鈥橪eary says.

Come Together

It鈥檚 not just with 激情快播 football though; the emphasis on academics is present in all 16 sports at the school. But to suggest that there is a simple program in place to ensure the academic achievement of 激情快播鈥檚 student-athletes would not only be unfair, it would be an understatement.

Joey Grant

鈥淚t鈥檚 a culture,鈥� says junior Joey Grant, an offensive lineman. 鈥淲e have high standards for student-athletes, and we instill that culture in each other. We compete against each other to get the best grades. Academics come first at 激情快播, and when I talk to some of my friends at other schools, I don鈥檛 hear that same commitment. I think we鈥檙e held to a higher standard than most other schools.鈥�

The numbers back Grant up. If you look at The Associated Press鈥� 2014 final Top 10 standings, Florida State finished first in the nation on the football field and 激情快播 finished 10th. But if you take those same 10 schools and rank them according to graduation success rate (GSR), the list shows 激情快播 finishing first. Overall, 激情快播 was fourth in the country with its GSR, trailing Notre Dame, Stanford and Duke.

Not coincidentally, the 激情快播 football program鈥檚 GSR has trended upward since O鈥橪eary arrived. In Fall 2003, the season before the O鈥橪eary era began, the 激情快播 football team bottomed out with an all-time low GPA of 2.018. In Spring 2014, the overall team GPA was 2.94. And for cynics who think football players are graduating with easy degrees designed to inflate the numbers, O鈥橪eary notes that his 85 scholarship players are enrolled in 25 different majors.

激情快播鈥檚 academic culture permeates the entire athletic department. But as fans know, it鈥檚 football that sets the tone at many schools. And at 激情快播, that starts with O鈥橪eary.

The Guarantee

The head coach delegates much to his assistants, but the one thing he won鈥檛 hand over is academics. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hands on,鈥� he declares. O鈥橪eary gets weekly reports on his players鈥� progress 鈥� how they鈥檙e doing with tests, assignments, attendance, mandatory study halls and tutoring programs 鈥� all of which go into his three-ring binder.

鈥淭hey miss class and it鈥檚 like missing practice,鈥� he says. 鈥淟ate is also [counted as] absent. Disrespecting a professor isn鈥檛 tolerated. Players are also instructed to sit at the front of the class and not next to each other,鈥� states O鈥橪eary, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about your buddy.鈥�

Players say the worst feeling is knowing their name will be read off 鈥淭he List鈥� following a grueling practice. Players get on The List by violating any of the aforementioned rules of academic conduct, and the result is running wind sprints or doing another physically taxing drill, typically led by the strength coach.

O鈥橪eary has also been known to quiz players early in the semester, asking: 鈥淲hat are your professors鈥� names?鈥� And if a player doesn鈥檛 know, the coach says, 鈥淭hen they better know the next time I ask. They better know how to spell it too. The days of the dumb jock are over.鈥�

It annoys O鈥橪eary when he sees schools use athletes, sending them on their way after their college-playing careers are over without the academics to secure their way in the real world. He preaches that football is a means to an end. 鈥淧eople are concerned about winning, and you want to win,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut you want to win the right way. You never want to jeopardize academics for athletics.鈥�

鈥淚 tell my coaches all the time when they鈥檙e recruiting, 鈥業f I can鈥檛 graduate them, then I don鈥檛 want them.鈥� We鈥檙e not going to just run these kids through the mill, use up their athletic ability, and then they鈥檙e on the street.鈥�

All players attend mandatory study halls with available tutoring programs, which are provided by (ASSA). And upperclassman football players often pull aside freshman teammates and tell them that when it comes to academics, O鈥橪eary is serious. The message is that if you want an opportunity to perform on the field, then you鈥檇 better perform in the classroom first.

鈥淐oach O鈥橪eary always tells us that it鈥檚 school first,鈥� says senior Brandon Alexander, a defensive back.

Brandon Alexander

An Orlando native, Alexander joined the football team with the hope of one day becoming a scholarship player. He saw some playing time his freshman season, but he was struggling in the classroom. The athletic department, through ASSA, provides an almost minute-to-minute schedule for its athletes, guiding them through a day of practice, classes, study hall and tutoring. Student-athletes know that if they don鈥檛 keep to the schedule, they鈥檒l fall dangerously, if not hopelessly, behind. In addition to academics, Alexander also struggled to maintain his schedule.

After the season was over, O鈥橪eary called Alexander into his office. 鈥淐oach told me that I had to get my grades up,鈥� he says. 鈥淗e told me if I didn鈥檛 get my act together, he鈥檇 have to send me home. That got my attention.鈥�

By availing himself of ASSA鈥檚 programs (mainly study hall and tutoring), Alexander brought his GPA up from the 2.3 he registered his first semester. That鈥檚 when O鈥橪eary called him into his office again, this time to tell him that he was putting him on scholarship.

鈥淭he first person I called was my mom,鈥� Alexander says. 鈥淪he started crying. It was a big, big day for me. Coach O鈥橪eary always preaches to us about getting our education. He tells us there is no guarantee we鈥檒l play, but he guarantees us we鈥檒l graduate if we make the commitment in the classroom.鈥�

Bench Strength

Alexander, his teammates and other 激情快播 student-athletes credit the assistance given by ASSA, which is headed by Director Kimya Massey.

鈥淲e keep spreadsheets on each student-athlete,鈥� Massey says. 鈥淲e track and monitor grades. We track every test and every assignment. We get progress reports on every student-athlete twice a semester from their professors. We stay on top of it. We鈥檙e very intrusive. We don鈥檛 want any surprises.鈥�

鈥淲e want to succeed, and they want us to succeed,鈥� Alexander says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a team effort, and it鈥檚 really impressive.鈥�

Massey disagrees that student-athletes are given more academic assistance than traditional students. 鈥淭he average student can have the same things if they want,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey have a lot of resources on campus. They have individual tutoring, group tutoring, counselors and advisers.鈥�

What might be surprising, especially to those who cling to the dumb jock stereotype, is that during the 2012鈥�13 academic year the student body average GPA was 3.01 while 激情快播鈥檚 450 student-athletes recorded an average GPA of 3.14. During the 2013鈥�14 academic year, student-athletes compiled an average GPA of 3.08, the 13th consecutive semester that 激情快播鈥檚 student-athletes have recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

鈥淭he trend, is for our student-athletes to have a GPA that is at or above the student body.鈥�

鈥淭he trend,鈥� Massey says, 鈥渋s for our student-athletes to have a GPA that is at or above the student body. It鈥檚 the passion and hard work of our ASSA staff that makes this level of academic achievement possible.鈥�

Much of the success is due to a coordinated effort between academics and athletics, helping ensure that practice schedules, road games and the rigors of athletics don鈥檛 hold student-athletes back from being what they primarily are 鈥� students.

In many ways, 激情快播 is ahead of the curve as academic data is used more frequently as a recruiting tool. For instance, not only does 激情快播 boast that its football players are in 25 different degree programs, but that its student-athletes are pursuing 67 different majors. 激情快播 currently offers 91 majors.

A.J. Rompza

While much of the recruitment process in the last 30 years focused on training and practice facilities, the trend is toward providing state-of-the-art learning centers. 激情快播 is expected to open the Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership in Fall 2015.

鈥淲e鈥檙e way past the point of wanting our student-athletes to just get degrees,鈥� Massey says. 鈥淲e believe that if you鈥檙e coming here to 激情快播, you鈥檙e coming for a holistic experience. It鈥檚 not just athletically or academically, but rather an experience that hopefully makes you stronger, a better person and prepared for life after college.鈥�

Toward that philosophy, 激情快播 has begun tracking where its student-athletes are five years post-graduation, something Massey says is important to Todd Stansbury, 激情快播鈥檚 vice president and director of athletics. Massey says this data will be among the most important statistics tracked by 激情快播.

Raving Rompza

A.J. Rompza, 鈥�12, may be in one of those studies. A former guard on 激情快播鈥檚 basketball team, Rompza is 24 now, living in his hometown of Chicago after earning a degree in interdisciplinary studies. Today he helps manage his family鈥檚 restaurant businesses, with plans to create his own niche in the industry.

鈥淎s soon as I walked into the program at 激情快播, I knew there absolutely wasn鈥檛 going to be any slacking,鈥� Rompza says. 鈥淚t was different from what I heard from my buddies who had gone to other schools. It was much more lenient where they were and they could get away with more things, like not having to go to class. 激情快播 wouldn鈥檛 tolerate that. If you were willing to work within the program, the people at 激情快播 were willing to make sure you didn鈥檛 fail. … They want you to succeed with what you want to do with your life.鈥�

Like other student-athletes past and present, Rompza described the academic environment as a culture.

鈥淚t definitely is,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd the culture is amazing. There鈥檚 positive peer pressure too. We were competing against each other, not just in our sport, but in the classroom. Being athletes, we鈥檙e naturally competitive anyway.鈥�

Rompza recalls his days at 激情快播 starting at 5 a.m. and lasting until the early evening.

鈥淚t鈥檚 structured. It鈥檚 demanding. But that鈥檚 good,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard, but life is hard. It would annoy me when I鈥檇 hear other students say, 鈥極h, you get everything handed to you. You get special treatment.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 that way at all. … They held us accountable. It instilled discipline in me. The whole experience, what it taught me, was priceless.鈥�

Higher Standard

Joanna Keough, 鈥�13, is one of those students who thought 激情快播鈥檚 student-athletes were perhaps not held to the same standards as others on campus. 鈥淚 heard the stereotypes, that grades are given to them, that they鈥檙e not really here for school; they鈥檙e just here to play sports,鈥� she says.

But then Keough, who is working toward a doctorate in physical therapy, began tutoring student-athletes. 鈥淚 was pleasantly surprised,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 saw right away that they were taking it seriously, that they were very hard workers with very busy schedules.鈥�

Not only has Keough, 23, continued to work with student-athletes, she鈥檚 now ASSA鈥檚 assistant tutor program coordinator and finds herself vehemently dispelling the disparaging stereotype of the student-athlete.

鈥淚 get offended now when I hear people say negative things, and I find myself having to educate people about what it鈥檚 really like,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like that it鈥檚 still a stereotype. We put in a lot of time and effort. I work hard, and the student-athletes work hard. We keep them to a higher standard than the rest of the student body. I know people like to say dumb jocks, but it鈥檚 not that at all.鈥�