Academic requirements challenge SCC athletes

Student athletes at Scottsdale Community College and all over the nation are being called upon to perform their best in their sport, as well as to excel in the classroom.

“If you were there your first year and you’re trying to play in your second year, you have to have 24 credits from that first year being at a 2.0 grade point average or higher or else you’re not going to be eligible to play your second year,” said former SCC football player Brett Lenaburg.

Aside from the expectations on paper and the field, Lenaburg said, “I wanted to make the best of my opportunity to play football. If you really love the game, you’ll put in the hard work, effort and time.”

A student must pass a certain amount of credit hours in order to be eligible to participate in athletics at SCC.

To make sure that their players are passing and can play in games, coaches monitor their grades.

“We have grade checks, we ask them if they need help because they won’t be able to play if they have bad grades,” said Skelly Kellar, head women’s soccer coach.

“Even if you go from an “F” to a “C,” that’ll kick your GPA up several points.”

According to Art Becker, men’s athletic director, only some of the student athletes on campus are educated about what is required for them to be eligible to play. Every fall the athletes attend an orientation that explains what is expected of them.

“Most of them have a general idea,” said Becker.

To certify an athlete’s eligibility, Janet Leffler in SCC Admissions, checks transcripts.

Whether the athletes are fresh out of high school or a transfer student, she must go over all the hours taken and all of the students’ history to make sure that they meet all the requirements to be eligible.

“They aren’t guidelines; they’re rules. Everyone must follow them if they want to play,” Becker said of the criteria for eligibility.

“For instance, when we start practice, no one is allowed on the field until they have started the eligibility process with Janet. There are certain tracer forms that they have to fill out.

Every year they have to fill out what we call an eligibility form. That form is a historical document that tells about that young man or that young woman,” Becker said.

There are different rules for transfer students. They must have a complete history of their eligibility from their previous college. They also must have passed the same required 12 credit hours per semester with the same GPA of 2.0 after their first year.