media guide - UWGB Phoenix Athletics

Academic Success in Athletics is the Green Bay WayBy: Michael Duenkel, UW-Green BayJanuary 22, 2013The academic success of UW-Green Bay’sstudent-athletes is no coincidence.According to the program’s academiccoordinator, Mike Kline, the studentathletes’success comes from coachesrecruiting those with strong academicbackgrounds and providing these studentswith the resources they need to be successful.Last May marked the twenty-fifth consecutivesemester that UW-Green Bay’scumulative student-athlete GPA was atleast a 3.0. And recently UW-Green Baywas recognized for this accomplishmentby “The Best Colleges” website, alongsideBaylor University, University of CentralFlorida, and others, as one of the top “11colleges with the smartest athletes.”The article also noted the Phoenix women’sbasketball team’s accomplishment ofhaving 31 consecutive semesters with aGPA greater than 3.0.Phoenix Athletics regularly remindsstudent-athletes to make a priority of academics,and the program steers playersto make use of resources including studytables, tutoring, and frequent communicationwith faculty and staff.“We have study table three nights for twoand a half hours each night that is mandatoryfor all freshmen. It is required for allother student-athletes until they maintaina certain GPA,” Kline says.“We want our student-athletes to understandthat their academics and their educationis their top priority,” he adds. “Theyare student-athletes, and if ‘student’comes before ‘athlete,’ it follows thatacademics should come before athletics.They complement each other, and if youare willing to be your best in one then youwill take pride in being your best in both.”Tim Meyer, professor emeritus of Informationand Computing Sciences/ Communication,believes UW-Green Bay hasa “culture of academic success [that] ispart of the entire program of intercollegiateathletics that spans all men’s andwomen’s sports.”Meyer adds that many of the athletesstudy “challenging and demanding” majorsand minors.He credits on-campus support includingAcademic Advising, Admissions and theRegistrar, faculty, staff and instructorsfor making expectations clear. He sayscommunication between student-athletesand instructors plays a major part in beingsuccessful. He also notes that faculty andstaff do not give “unwarranted breaks” tothe student-athletes.Lyndsay Zabkowicz, a junior majoring inHuman Biology with an emphasis in exercisescience, is on Phoenix women’s volleyballteam. She says setting a scheduleand sticking to it has helped her maintaina strong academic record.“We do not get much down time so wereally have to use our time well,” she said.She also mentions that coaches and staffare very helpful in making sure studentathleteshave all the tools they need tosucceed.Don McCartney, senior lecturer of BusinessAdministration, said that duringa mandatory presentation time for hisclasses, student-athletes have used Skypeto ensure they can comply with giving thepresentation at the required time, evenwhen on the road for competition.Lydia Bauer, a senior majoring in BusinessAdministration with an emphasis in marketing,is on the women’s basketball team.She believes time management, as well ascommunicating with her professors, havehelped her most in managing academicsand athletics.“As a team we stress the importance ofour education and want to maintain agood reputation with the professors ofthe University,” Bauer said. “The athleticdepartment also provides wonderful resourcesfor all the student-athletes to usein order to succeed.”Meyer believes that some of the academicsuccess can be attributed to the senseof camaraderie exhibited among teammembers.“They help each other out. Most of it, ofcourse, goes on quietly behind the scenesbut the hard evidence emerges at the endof every semester,” Meyer said.“It’s not unusual to find them studyingon road trips while traveling via plane orbus,” added Donna Ritch, associate deanof Liberal Arts and Sciences.Adrian Ritchie, a senior majoring in BusinessAdministration with an emphasis inmarketing and a minor in Communication,plays women’s basketball.Juggling both academics and athleticsfeels natural for her.“We are lucky to be part of a universitythat has such strong support for our programand makes it possible to obtain ourgoals despite any obstacles or challengeswe may have,” Ritchie said.Ritchie said meeting expectations andupholding the standard of academic andathletic success is the “Green Bay Way.”“The University is full of people who workhard so it is a better place for everyone,”she added.