We have high academic expectations of our student athletes. We agree with Myles Brand, the NCAA president, that “academic performance and athletic achievement are not mutually exclusive.”

Are our student-athletes prepared for college?

Incoming first year student-athletes at Tarleton show preparation levels comparable to those of all incoming students.

Tarleton is ahead of many institutions in meeting the standards of Propositions 48 and 64, which are two NCAA resolutions designed to set minimum educational levels in collegiate athletes.

Proposition 64 of the NCAA established a minimum score of 820 in the SAT and a 2.0 grade point average in 13 core curriculum courses in high school. Proposition 48 carries these minimums even further and outlines availability of scholarships to Freshmen athletes based on their school performance.

Academic performance:

The GPA for all athletic teams in 2002-03 was [X] on a 4.0 scale. The women’s teams had an overall GPA of [X] while the men’s teams averaged [X]. This can be compared to the total student body GPA, which averaged [X]. GPA for the general female student body was [X] and [X] for males. [Highlight specific athletic teams and their GPAs]

Since [how far do the records go?] [how many] student athletes have earned Academic All-America honors and [how many] have earned NCAA Postgraduate scholarships. Many of our student athletes have been nominated for these honors.

Faculty and staff athletes:

Several of our own faculty and staff played varsity sports! For example, [highlight several faculty–with their permission].

The academic standards set forth by the National Collegiate Athletics Association are as follows:

  • Must pass 24 hours during the academic year, only 6 hours may be counted from summer school.
  • Minimum GPA per year – after 24 hours, 1.8; after 48 hours, 1.9; after 72 hours, 2.0. However, the athletes are warned in academic meetings that these GPA’s are lower than Tarleton’s requirements, so if they do not keep a 2.0, they will not be in good standing.
  • Development courses do not count for the 24 hours after their freshman year.