Athlete/Faculty Relationship

•     The faculty who teach student-athletes are a key part of the student-athletes success
•     Most faculty members treat student-athletes the same as they would treat any other student
•     However, exceptions do exist and some faculty members may not be interested in compromising to work around the student-athlete's hectic schedule
•     Some faculty members may also view student athletes as "coddled, less academically inclined, and less interested in their course work".
•     To help avoid these problems, student-athletes must make an effort to talk with their faculty and explain the situation
•     Never miss a class without telling the faculty member why and show them a schedule and/or a note from the athletic department
•     Usually, the more contact that a faculty member has with a student-athlete, the more they will grow to respect them (as long as the student-athlete does what they know they should be doing)
•     Coaches must stress to their student-athletes that academics do come FIRST
•     Another beneficial idea would be to have some type of program on campus to help manage student-athlete and faculty relationships
•     The best way to beat negative stereotypes is to display proper academic behavior
•     There must be an inherent balance in a "student-athlete"
•     NCAA President, Myles Brand, is currently stressing that colleges need to shy away from the professional sports world.
•     Brand claims that by allowing collegiate sports to become more professional, more stress becomes placed on athletics, and the balance between academics and athletics begins to disappear
•     Losing the balance between academics and athletics will mean the program loses its use to the university
•     Three objectives are essential to keeping this balance: 1.) Recommit the students to their academic success. 2.) Respect that the concept of balance is key. 3.) Reconnect athletic programmatically and financially with the rest of the university.