Anyone ever hear of a D1 Scholarship to a less than average student?

[SBDadSanDiego]

I realize the question implies that my DD is an below average student, But I can truthfully state that she is a solid 3.5 or better every year. (math being her Achilles) I ask the question, because obviously many of these same schools give scholarships to football players who couldn't legitimately pass the 8th grade.

I'm not oblivious to the fact that Men's sports are the programs breadwinners, my kid is only 12, but I have started to read up on the recruitment process, and everything I read says your DD better be an overachiever in the classroom as well, is this pretty true?

It seems like a huge double standard to me.. Not that it's anything that women in sports have not noticed, and dealt with for years.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I hear people say that a students grade point ave. can drop a whole point in college. I think that is why coaches look for the over achievers.

Yes, I do know a major D1 player and professional softball player who wasn't a good student. At least her GPA was given as a 2.8 in college. But she was among the top 5 nationally at her position and was a HR hitter.

And, she grew up and went to HS in the same town as the major university where she played.

There are examples of girls that become ineligible their first semester and are still able to right the ship. But they have to be one of the top recruits around, for the coach to give them much slack.

Has your DD tried tutoring? Maybe the light would go on for her. Also, some girls realize the importance of their grades and take a summer off from traveling to go to summer school.

 

[sluggers]

I'm not oblivious to the fact that Men's sports are the programs breadwinners, my kid is only 12, but I have started to read up on the recruitment process, and everything I read says your DD better be an overachiever in the classroom as well, is this pretty true?

No. College softball coaches are treated like the other team coaches--they have a salary, and then they get a performance bonus based upon wins/conference title/CWS appearances. So, the most important thing to the coach is winning.

The second most important thing to a coach is "baby sitting". How much time am I going to have to spend to keep the kid in school?

So, coaches will spend more time baby sitting great athletes. They have less patience for baby sitting with lesser athletes.

Again, I've been around a D3 girls hoops team and a D1 softball team. None of the kids were brilliant. There were a few above average kids. Almost all of the athletes were average students.

 

[SBDadSanDiego]

Has your DD tried tutoring? Maybe the light would go on for her. Also, some girls realize the importance of their grades and take a summer off from traveling to go to summer school.

As I said Amy, She is a solid student, She has made Honor roll 2 of the last 3 years, I may get her help with math, but I suspect it was the dislike of her math teacher that caused the dip in her math grade.
I posed the question after reading a thread about Dexter Manley in one of my NFL forums.
He was an Oklahoma State University player who played in the NFL.. It was discovered while he was a Washington Redskin, that he was completely illiterate.

 

[SoftSocDad]

Totally depends on the sport, the 'level', and the school. There was talk during the WCWS about specific players who'd had to step it up in the classroom in order to receive or maintain their scholarships...the one girl from Alabama (was it Charlotte Morgan?) comes to mind.

It's only been since graduating that I've known anyone who went to a D1 school on a softball scholarship and just generalizing, I'd only put one, maybe two of them in the super-book smart category. I'm sure there are others, but they don't stand out as such, nor have they indicated otherwise.

As the competition for scholarship dollars increases, yes, there's value in being a top-tier athlete, but I'm old-school - if you're a .600 hitter AND you're a superstar in the classroom and your community, then you're the kid I want in my program. However, at a large number of D1 programs, they'll go for the .668 hitter with the 2.5 GPA.

So, over the next 5 years, if your daughter is a potential D1 talent, you can expect her to be in competition with girls who aren't as smart or who don't put as much time into their studies.

 

[mudbug]

I have seen girls who were straight A students at school, fail to pass state tests to get promoted or graduate. GPA isnt all there is. Standardized tests, ACT , SAT etc will tell a lot, all schools are not equal, far from it.

 

[Doug]

I have no direct experience, but isn't it true that most softball players only receive partial scholarships?

If so, the coaches may be looking for the better student, expecting them to be able to get some academic scholarship money, therefore allowing the coach to be able to spread his softball money out to more players.

Of course, a true elite player would get more softball money.

 

[andyh64000]

Depends on the school. It would be difficult for a poor student to gain entrance into many Pac-10 schools for any sport including football.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

If all things are equal, I would think that a coach would take an A student over a B student.

I hear stories about "kiddo" verbals and then, stops taking her AP classes, gets Bs and find herself with no scholarship.

When I coached at Springfield College in IL. the athlete's ACT had to be an 18 or above. An 18 was considered pretty low on the average scale.
I saw girls apply with a 13 and they had no idea that was bad.

 

[SoftSocDad]

As with anything else in life, having the most competitive resumé possible will generally give you the most options.