2008 Woodie Awards
Letter:Athletes' well-deserved scholarships maintain academic standards
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Opinion
To the editor:
In response to Stephanie Mullen's article regarding scholarship allotments for academics and athletics, I'd like to elaborate on some of the statistics provided, since they could be misleading to the majority of readers.
First, Mullen states that athletes receive over $20,000 in scholarships on average while non-athletes receive about $12,000 on average.
This statement must be clarified, since I feel that some readers may (incorrectly) infer that athletes receive scholarships solely composed of athletic grants.
Many athletes at St. Joe's receive both academic and athletic scholarships, in actuality providing about an average of $8,000 more in aid for athletes when compared to non-athletes.
Most sports teams are not fully funded at St. Joe's, and, as a result, they cannot afford to provide large athletic scholarships to each player.
Combined packages of scholarships supply a solution to this dilemma.
Regardless of one's opinion on whether the additional scholarship money provided is warranted, the fact that athletes must also maintain certain GPAs to maintain most of their scholarship money must be acknowledged.
For example, as a member of the softball team, I will retain my athletic scholarship money so long as I am member of the team; however, I must maintain a 3.2 GPA in order to retain the majority of my scholarship money, which I receive for academic achievement.
I do not attempt to assert that my case is indicative of all athletes' situations, but many of us must maintain high GPAs just as other students do.
Therefore, the statement that, "…athletes that receive scholarships of $20,000 or more are required to maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA, and that requirement is only for their senior year," is completely misleading since we as athletes must adhere to the same standards as other students to retain much of the scholarship money we receive.
As far as the study hall hours are concerned, one must note that not all athletes must complete study hall hours: freshman athletes during the fall semester and other athletes whose GPAs fall below certain benchmarks depending on their class must attend.
In response to Stephanie Mullen's article regarding scholarship allotments for academics and athletics, I'd like to elaborate on some of the statistics provided, since they could be misleading to the majority of readers.
First, Mullen states that athletes receive over $20,000 in scholarships on average while non-athletes receive about $12,000 on average.
This statement must be clarified, since I feel that some readers may (incorrectly) infer that athletes receive scholarships solely composed of athletic grants.
Many athletes at St. Joe's receive both academic and athletic scholarships, in actuality providing about an average of $8,000 more in aid for athletes when compared to non-athletes.
Most sports teams are not fully funded at St. Joe's, and, as a result, they cannot afford to provide large athletic scholarships to each player.
Combined packages of scholarships supply a solution to this dilemma.
Regardless of one's opinion on whether the additional scholarship money provided is warranted, the fact that athletes must also maintain certain GPAs to maintain most of their scholarship money must be acknowledged.
For example, as a member of the softball team, I will retain my athletic scholarship money so long as I am member of the team; however, I must maintain a 3.2 GPA in order to retain the majority of my scholarship money, which I receive for academic achievement.
I do not attempt to assert that my case is indicative of all athletes' situations, but many of us must maintain high GPAs just as other students do.
Therefore, the statement that, "…athletes that receive scholarships of $20,000 or more are required to maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA, and that requirement is only for their senior year," is completely misleading since we as athletes must adhere to the same standards as other students to retain much of the scholarship money we receive.
As far as the study hall hours are concerned, one must note that not all athletes must complete study hall hours: freshman athletes during the fall semester and other athletes whose GPAs fall below certain benchmarks depending on their class must attend.
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