The saga continues...

The Ann Arbor News four part investigative series into the academic practices of the Michigan Athletic Department concluded with the following articles:

Day Three

• U-M's "safe harbor" is general studies
• M Hockey player Eric Werner just short of graduating
• General studies uncommon at M's "peer" universities
• Football responsibilities overrode Pierre Woods' other aspirations

Day Four

• Counselors push narrow academic path
• Graduation eludes ex-lineman Gabe Watson
• No standard model for academic support
• M Academic Success Program co-Director Shari Acho

After reading the four days worth of articles regarding the results of the seven month long investigation into the academic policies of the Michigan Athletic Department, I have concluded that Michigan is doing things the right way. If this is the worst that turns up when Michigan is put under the microscope then Michigan has a lot of which it can be proud. Keep in mind that the Ann Arbor News investigative story only presented one viewpoint. For a different perspective on academic issues at the Athletic Department, refer to my post of this time last year (Michigan achieves on and off the field: 3/3/07). Also, contrast the situations of Pierre Woods, Gabe Watson, and Brent Petway (all as featured in the AA News series) with the experience of football and academic All-American Dr. Stefan Humphries who was co-Captain of the 1983 Wolverine football team. (see June 4, 1984 Sports Illustrated article: "He came out picture perfect"-part I, part II, part III, part IV, part V; orig. SI article). Dr. Humphries managed his time at Michigan and was able to obtain an education, go on to a successful NFL career, then go on to become a doctor. It is more about the individual taking advantage of the opportunity than the opportunity not being available for the individual (yes, I'm looking at you Gabe Watson). Go Blue!

Michigan Football program achieves on and off the field

The Ohio State University athletic program was the subject of the cover story article in the March 5, 2007 print edition of Sports Illustrated. In the excellent piece by L. Jon Wertheim, one of the issues that was examined was how the Buckeyes balance academic versus athletic success. Overall, the Ohio State University came out (unfortunately some may say) looking rather favorably as the Buckeyes have put a new emphasis on support services for their student-athletes in the post-Maurice Clarett years. One of the profile features in the SI article was of David Graham, the Director of the Student-Athlete Support Services Office (SASSO), the athletic department's tutoring and academic counseling division. The 37-year-old Graham has been on the job for just more than a year as he came over from Miami (OH) in January, 2006. Graham is the Ohio State University's answer to the job Shari Acho (Associate A.D./Academic Football Counselor/Co-Director Academic Success Program) performs for the University of Michigan. At Ohio State, the athletic support program has been relocated from the athletic complex to the the new Younkin Success Center which is located in the middle of campus. The unofficial motto apparently is "Get to the Younkin or you'll be flunkin' ". The Younkin Success Center has a full-time staff of 17 and a roster of nearly 100 tutors according to the article. Mr. Graham's direction seems to be helping as more than half the Buckeyes football team members had a grade-point average of 3.0 or better during the '06 fall quarter. All of this made me wonder how this compares to what is going on at the University of Michigan.

As previously mentioned, Shari Acho is the person in charge of academics for the University of Michigan Football team. She is entering her eighth year with the school. While OSU has the new Younkin Success Center, Michigan has the 38,000 square foot Stephen M. Ross Academic Center which opened January 5, 2006. The University of Michigan runs its Academic Success Program for its 700 student-athletes out of the building which is located on State Street next to Yost Ice Arena. The building cost $12 million to construct and the cost of the building was covered entirely by donations. The single largest benefactor was Stephen M. Ross who contributed $5 million to the project. Operating costs for the Center are about $400,000 annually with the funds coming from the Athletic Department's budget. This expense is in addition to the nearly $700,000 the athletic department spends annually to fund the Academic Success Program. These expenses incurred by the Athletic Department for academic support for the athletes are on top of the more than $12 million in tuition that the Athletic Department pays to the University each year for the student-athletes. Eschewing any budgetary concerns, Athletic Director Bill Martin has been a major proponent of both the Center and the Academic Success Program. The Academic Success Program has ten full-time staff members who work in the Center and it also employs tutors at the rate of $8 to $12 per hour.

The Center is outfitted with a 71-station computing lab, classrooms and casual study areas. There is a fireplace, comfortable chairs and flat screen TVs in the lounge area. Freshman athletes are required to log a minimum of eight hours of study per week at the Center during their first semester. Second semester is not as structured depending on how the student-athlete is faring in class. After their freshmen year, student-athletes are not required to attend the Center unless they are deemed to be "struggling." Each team sets its own standard. In football, its a GPA below 2.3 whereas for women's basketball it's anything below 3.0.

In order to stay eligible for NCAA competition, athletes around the nation must keep up with the academic standards set by their conference. The Big Ten standards change based on how many years a student athlete has been at the school, but they are lowest after the first semester - when just a 1.65 GPA is required. At Michigan, athletes, like all students, need to keep their GPA above a 2.0 or risk being put on academic probation or even being kicked out of school.

Until five years ago, the football players- like most other students- were put on a four-year graduation plan meaning they would be set to graduate in April of their senior year. However, it was determined that many of the players were not finishing the final semester of school after the bowl game. Therefore, Mrs. Acho and Sue Shand (the Co-Directors of the Academic Success Program) reorganized the way football players make their school schedules. Mrs. Acho and Ms. Shand wanted to make sure as many of the players as possible were graduating in December before the bowl game. They developed two different programs: one for players who redshirt and one for those who don't. If they play their first year and don't redshirt - like Chad Henne and Mike Hart, for instance - then they're on a three-and-a-half year program. They go to school year round, averaging about 37 credits a year. If they redshirt, they're on a four and a half year program. During their fifth year at the University, they can choose to start working towards a master's degree or save a class or two to take during their final football season. Either way, football players started graduating almost exclusively in December because of the plan that Mrs. Acho and Ms. Shand devised. Consequently, graduation rates went up. It is the goal of Athletic Director Bill Martin to have the graduation rate of student-athletes surpass that of the general student population at the University of Michigan. It has not happened yet but it was close a few years ago when student-athletes graduated the year at a rate of 82% while the general student population graduation rate was just 2% higher. With Mrs. Acho and the football team leading the way, A.D. Martin may realize his goal in the near future. Go Blue!

*Note 1: Sports Illustrated cover photo by Al Tielemans/SI
* Inset Photos: Peter Read Miller (Sosa); Todd Rosenberg (Quinn and Russell); Damian Strohmeyer (Northwestern); John Rieger/US Presswire (Missouri); Larry Levanti (College of New Jersey)
*Note 2: Photo of Stephen M. Ross Center by Ali Olsen/ The Michigan Daily

Making the Grade: Shari Acho

If you have attended any of the season end Michigan Football Busts at Laurel Manor in Livonia the past few seasons you know the routine of the players who are accepting their M rings. They thank the U of M Club of Greater Detroit for their M ring, they thank their Mom, and they thank God (not necessarily in that order). Additionally, over the past several seasons, almost all of the players thanked someone named Shari Acho. They each said they would not have made it through their years at Michigan were it not for her. They also mentioned how she was tough on them. I remember thinking she must be one of the athletic trainers. Hardly. She is in charge of training their minds.

Shari Acho is an Associate Athletic Director/Academic Football Counselor. She is also co-Director of the Academic Success Program at the University of Michigan. She will be entering her seventh year with U of M. At last year's Football Bust, senior Paul Sarantos told a funny anecdote about Mrs. Acho (a clip of Sarantos telling the story was even shown on that weekend's Michigan Replay). Sarantos was a top student/athlete and he said that one day he found a note on his car windshield because his car had accidentally been hit by Shari Acho in the Schembechler Hall parking lot. The note read something like, "You better keep your grades up or next time I'll hit you instead of your car. Shari Acho" Now that's one tough academic counselor. The players seem to really respect (and even fear) her and she has done a fantastic job of making sure the players excel in the classroom as well as on the field. So the next time you are at a M Football Bust and hear the players thank Shari Acho, you'll know why. You can learn more about Mrs. Acho by clicking here and scrolling to the last page to read her bio from the Spring Football Media Guide which is in pdf format. Go Blue!