Sun Belt Agrees To Raise Athletic,academic Expectations

MeanGreen61 · May 25, 2007

Sun Belt Conference Agrees to Raise Academic and Athletic Expectations

Courtesy: Sun Belt Conference

Release: 05/24/2007

The Sun Belt Conference announced today that comprehensive performance standards will be implemented immediately for all sports with emphasis on men’s and women’s basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball and women’s soccer. The standards were unanimously approved by the conference’s member institutions today, and the document will be released in its entirety later this summer once minor technical additions are finalized.

The primary goal is to help conference schools compete at the highest level in NCAA play while also increasing retention and graduation rates. The intent is also to ensure the continuing improvement of both academic and athletic successes for Sun Belt Conference student-athletes and teams along with enhancing the overall experience for each school’s fans and alumni. All Sun Belt schools will be expected within a three-year period to achieve minimum expectations in the areas of athletic performance, APR, scheduling, recruiting, attendance, staffing and ticket sales. The increased standards result from a year-long study conducted by a committee appointed by Dr. Sidney McPhee, Sun Belt Conference president (see background below).

“This is a tremendous advancement for the Sun Belt Conference,” Commissioner Wright Waters said. “We are proud of what we have accomplished thus far as a conference, but we are not satisfied. The implementation of these academic and athletic standards will enable us to compete at the highest level in the increasingly highly competitive landscape of collegiate athletics. It also indicates the leadership at our schools has tremendous vision.”

“These standards are the result of extensive, exhaustive and thorough analysis and dialogue,” McPhee said. “The Chief Executive Officers of the conference approved this by a 13-0 vote. This is an indication that we all recognize what we have accomplished thus far but also understand the future steps that must be taken by all of us as we move forward in order to achieve and maintain a high level of athletic and academic success.”

CajunNation · May 25, 2007

Sun Belt Conference Agrees to Raise Academic and Athletic Expectations
Courtesy: Sun Belt Conference
Release: 05/24/2007

The Sun Belt Conference announced today that comprehensive performance standards will be implemented immediately for all sports with emphasis on men’s and women’s basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball and women’s soccer. The standards were unanimously approved by the conference’s member institutions today, and the document will be released in its entirety later this summer once minor technical additions are finalized.
The primary goal is to help conference schools compete at the highest level in NCAA play while also increasing retention and graduation rates. The intent is also to ensure the continuing improvement of both academic and athletic successes for Sun Belt Conference student-athletes and teams along with enhancing the overall experience for each school’s fans and alumni. All Sun Belt schools will be expected within a three-year period to achieve minimum expectations in the areas of athletic performance, APR, scheduling, recruiting, attendance, staffing and ticket sales. The increased standards result from a year-long study conducted by a committee appointed by Dr. Sidney McPhee, Sun Belt Conference president (see background below).
“This is a tremendous advancement for the Sun Belt Conference,” Commissioner Wright Waters said. “We are proud of what we have accomplished thus far as a conference, but we are not satisfied. The implementation of these academic and athletic standards will enable us to compete at the highest level in the increasingly highly competitive landscape of collegiate athletics. It also indicates the leadership at our schools has tremendous vision.”
“These standards are the result of extensive, exhaustive and thorough analysis and dialogue,” McPhee said. “The Chief Executive Officers of the conference approved this by a 13-0 vote. This is an indication that we all recognize what we have accomplished thus far but also understand the future steps that must be taken by all of us as we move forward in order to achieve and maintain a high level of athletic and academic success.”

Does anybody know what these increased standards are??

Stupid article says nothing about it.

Green to the Bone · May 25, 2007

It's not an article, which would denote being written by a reporter, whose job it would have been to ask such questions.

It's a press release, which means it was written by a conference-employed public relations person, whose job it is to ask no such questions.

Which means that the Sun Belt officials left that information out of the release on purpose, for whatever reason.

My guess would be that it's because the changes they're making are lame and inadequate. But that's just rank speculation.

Spaceraider · May 25, 2007

..... The standards were unanimously approved by the conference’s member institutions today, and the document will be released in its entirety later this summer once minor technical additions are finalized......

NT80 · May 26, 2007

Doesn't the NCAA already mandate this in the form of the APR recently released? This just seems like an "official league response" to those SBC schools that fell below those marks in some sports. A lot of nothing in reality.

Edited May 26, 2007 by NT80

Spaceraider · May 26, 2007

Doesn't the NCAA already mandate this in the form of the APR recently released? This just seems like an "official league response" to those SBC schools that fell below those marks in some sports. A lot of nothing in reality.

"....All Sun Belt schools will be expected within a three-year period to achieve minimum expectations in the areas of athletic performance, APR, scheduling, recruiting, attendance, staffing and ticket sales......"

seems like more than just APR to me, the question is what is the Sun Belt's penalty for failure to meet the standards? Standards without teeth is like United Nation Resolutions - worthless.

GreenEddieNT · May 26, 2007

"....All Sun Belt schools will be expected within a three-year period to achieve minimum expectations in the areas of athletic performance, APR, scheduling, recruiting, attendance, staffing and ticket sales......"
seems like more than just APR to me, the question is what is the Sun Belt's penalty for failure to meet the standards? Standards without teeth is like United Nation Resolutions - worthless.

Exactly. The "minimum expectations" are probably going to be so low that even a caveman could meet them. In those cases where even those low expectations can't be met the Sun Belt won't kick anyone out of the league. They might penalize them financially but the amount of money the Sun Belt pays out to its member institutions is already so low, compared to other Division I conferences, that it means almost nothing to not receive that pittance of a paycheck..