S. Carolina clarifies admissions guidelines
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The University of South Carolina clarified guidelines for special admissions Tuesday, about two months after football coach Steve Spurrier threatened to leave if something wasn't changed.
Spurrier was embarrassed and angry in August when two incoming prospects, receiver Michael Bowman and defensive back Arkee Smith, were told they could not enroll after the coach told them they would get in. Both high school students had met NCAA requirements.
Spurrier said then if things didn't change, "then I have to go somewhere else, because I can't tell the young man that he's coming to school here," then not have him admitted.
The policy detailed Tuesday by the school makes clear the criteria it would take for those needing special admission from the university president to enroll. It would also give South Carolina coaches earlier predictions about a prospect's academic success at the school, university Provost Mark Becker said.
"The key goal here was to provide clear, more straight forward guidance," Becker said.
University President Andrew Sorensen agreed to the revamped guidelines last week, the provost said.
Athletic director Eric Hyman briefed most of his coaches about the new policy, which he said had been worked on for nearly a year prior to Spurrier's angry words.
On Tuesday, when asked about the reworked guidelines, Spurrier said, "Yeah, we can live with that."
South Carolina has about 100 special admissions approved by the president each year, about half of them going to athletics, Becker said.
The previous procedure was clunky at times with a committee meeting several times to debate a candidate's worthiness based different standards.
Becker said the new guidelines take away a lot of the guesswork for South Carolina coaches.
First-year candidates will be required to have at least a 2.0 high-school GPA and a 710 on the SAT (or equivalent ACT score of 15) before their applications can even be considered.
Becker said an overwhelming majority of all special admissions are above those requirements.
Athletic candidates for special admission would be nominated by the athletic director. Those without transcript irregularities can get admitted to school if they meet at least three of five academic criteria:
-- Final high school GPA of at least 2.5 out of 4.0 by graduation.
-- Ranks in top 50 percent of high school graduating class.
-- SAT of at least 830, or ACT of at least 17.
-- SAT critical reading score of at least 420, or ACT English sub-score of at least 17.
-- SAT Math of at least 420, or ACT Math sub-score of at least 17.
Prospects who fall short of the three out of five could still be admitted but must comply with certain academic support requirements designed specifically for them. The student, along with a coach or other appropriate university official, would sign the agreement.
Hyman praised the guidelines because it allows coaches to bring in "a young person who may not be on the same classification as some other students. It gives them a system that's in place for them to achieve academically."
It also brings accountability to the student and the program should the athlete fall short academically, Becker said.
Hyman expects the policies will give coaches earlier notice about which prospects can achieve classroom success. The issue becomes more critical, he said, since the NCAA's Academic Progress Reports (APR) can include serious penalties for programs that don't meet the standards.
The rework of the policy won't end all debate. The NCAA uses a sliding scale that ranges from an athlete qualifying with a 2.0 GPA and 1010 SAT score, to one passing with a GPA of 3.550 or higher and an SAT score of 400.
Clemson's athletic department has also dealt with admissions process problems when the football team couldn't admit receiver Dwight Jones Jr. and running back Jo Jo Cox. The school's review recommended that national letters-of-intent be separated from the admissions decision process and that the NCAA's graduation success rate and academic progress rate scores be incorporated into the process of deciding which student-athlete applications warrant further review.
Clemson's review panel also recommended moving deadlines one month later for submitting admissions materials.
At South Carolina, Becker said special admissions also include students who excel at music, art or dance, along with athletics. Despite Spurrier's angry tone, every branch of the university had a common goal.
"The relationship here is not an adversarial one between academics and athletics," Becker said. "Everybody's looking at the same thing. We want the coaches to be able to recruit, students to be able to be successful in the classroom as well as in competition."
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