Other Ohio Valley Conference competitors, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, have failed to meet the Academic Progress Rate once again, the first time being in 2009 with their football program and now with their basketball team.

The Gamecocks hoops squad will miss the playoffs and have its season reduced by 10 percent.

In a statement, JSU President Dr. William A. Meehan said he is “certainly disappointed” by their postseason ban and is taking “significant” steps to improve its APR score. But what keeps our own President Perry from having to make these types of statements?

Eastern has never had NCAA sanctions stemming from APR issues due to proper procedures, plenty of communication and good recruiting.

Director of Academic Services Cindy Tozer lends a hand along with many others see that it stays that way.

“We monitor academic progress by sending out grade reports to the faculty members a few times each semester,” Tozer said. “We also meet one-on-one with our at-risk student-athletes to stay informed on their progress.”

Beyond this, certifying officers in the Records Office step in to shed light on eligibility issues that one may have.

“Our compliance staff communicates regularly with our student-athletes,” Tozer said. “Our coaching staff is then notified of any eligibility issues.”

If a team’s multi-year rate (APR score) falls below 900, the NCAA will step in and hammer an institution with increasing severity each year that they fail to improve.

“Some of the sanctions include restrictions on scholarships and practice time (Year 2), loss of postseason competition for the team (Year 3) and restricted membership status for an institution (Year 4),” Tozer said.

Any worse, and the school’s entire athletic program will be stripped of its title as an NCAA Division I institution.

This beginnings of this process is coming up soon for all institutions, with the moment of truth to follow.

“The NCAA opens up the APR portal in mid to late July and the data is kept in a secured database online,” Tozer said. “The APR data is due in 6 weeks after the census date on campus.”

At the end of the day, it is up to every piece of the institution and its student-athletes to step up and surpass the standard laid down by the NCAA. College can be hectic at times with athletics in the picture for some, so when issues arise, they must be nipped in the bud before a slippery slope becomes even more slippery.

“I think APR is everyone’s responsibility,” Tozer said. “The student-athletes, the coaches, academics, compliance, etcetera. However, we must recruit student-athletes that are students first and have that be their number one priority.”

Joshua Bryant can

be reached at 581-2812

or [email protected].