Feb. 1, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. -- Nearly 90 percent of those University of Oklahoma student-athletes that complete their athletics eligibility earn a degree. Some do so conventionally. Now, thanks to a Degree Completion Program that ranks No. 1 in the nation, others are accomplishing that same goal in a less traditional sense. The Big 12 leads the nation with four schools in the top 10 (No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas and No. 6 Nebraska).
This week, OU Senior Associate Athletics Director Gerald Gurney received an award on behalf of OU from the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) to recognize the school's efforts in reaching out to those individuals who exhausted their time in a uniform before they earned a degree.
With 81 students enrolled in that program during the 2006-07 school year, OU exceeded all other universities on the Degree Completion Honor Roll, a list compiled by the NCAS. Ohio State ranked second with 70, followed by Kentucky with 57, Texas A&M with 49 , Texas with 46 and Nebraska with 45.
"We are extremely committed to the educational part of our mission in the athletics department," said OU Vice President for Sports Programs and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Joe Castiglione. "The Student Life staff that oversees this program is to be commended, but so are the dedicated individuals who recognize this wonderful opportunity. We are encouraged by these numbers and challenged to achieve even more.
For Dr. Gurney, the success of the program illustrates the university's desire to see all of its student-athletes succeed.
"For a variety of reasons, most of which relate to their various time commitments, there are instances in which a student-athlete does not have a degree completed at the time their eligibility expires," said Gurney, who supervises the athletics department's Office of Student Life and the Prentice Gautt Academic Center. "It is incumbent on us as athletics administrators and educators to see their academic aspirations through to a diploma regardless of their eligibility. We feel a great sense of responsibility to all our student-athletes and their families to provide them with a first-rate athletics and educational experience.
For the past three years, the program has been funded in part by the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund, which is distributed by NCAA revenue sources through the Conferences. The decision to apply those monies to the degree program, a unique use according to OU officials, was made jointly by the athletics administrative staff and the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, which has since reaffirmed its interest in continuing the fund for that purpose.
Additional funding is provided by the Varsity O Association through the Port Robertson Endowment.
Over the last three years, 117 former student-athletes have completed a degree through financial assistance from the SOAF. Also during that span, 28 former Sooner student-athletes have returned from the professional sports ranks to working towards degree completion.
National Consortium for Academics and Sports Degree Completion Honor Roll
1. Oklahoma (81)
2. Ohio State (70)
3. Kentucky (57)
4. Texas A&M (49)
5. Texas (46)
6. Nebraska (45)
7. Temple (35)
8. UCLA (34)
9. Indiana (34)
10. Auburn (33)
