College football

Big East moves to bolster academics

By GREG AUMAN
Published November 30, 2005

At a time when the Big East needs all the competitive help it can get, the league has taken an impressive step that shows academics are still its top priority.

Commissioner Mike Tranghese has declined to comment or confirm, and there remain i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed, but the league's presidents voted at their annual meeting in Philadelphia this month to implement a policy that would keep member schools from accepting academic non-qualifiers.

"The athletic directors and academic advisers are very supportive of that. We're trying to upgrade our academic image," said Jo-Ann Nester, USF's associate athletic director for academics. "I don't think it's going to affect us (at USF) at all. We're just looking for a more level playing field across the conference."

USF is less impacted by the move than most schools, as the Bulls have only had a handful of non-qualifiers in recent years. The last was Armwood's Jarriett Buie , who attended classes last year without participating with the team and hopes to regain a fourth year of eligibility by graduating within four years.

The move illustrates a difference in the academic stature of USF's new league and its old home, Conference USA, which still allows non-qualifiers. The ACC, by comparison, doesn't allow non-qualifiers unless they've completed a year of prep school or two years at a junior college, a compromise that could wind up being the Big East's criteria.

The move comes after the NCAA has placed greater accountability through its Academic Progress Rate system, which penalizes programs that fail to keep athletes eligible and on course to graduate.

USF's overall APR score was the highest in the state last year, and the best of any football school in last year's Conference USA lineup or this year's Big East. Higher turnover in football and men's basketball will make it tough for the Bulls to repeat those honors, but the Big East's decision will ultimately help keep USF's scores among the state's highest.

MORE INJURIES: Having already lost senior Tristen Webb to a torn ACL, the women's basketball team will be without junior guard Rachael Sheats for four to six weeks. Sheats tore the lateral meniscus in her right knee and will undergo surgery today. The best scenario would have her missing one Big East game, Wednesday's home date against DePaul.

Her injury leaves freshmen Shantia Grace and Jessica Jackson as the only scholarship guards on roster, though forward Jessica Dickson started at guard Sunday and can help in the backcourt. The Bulls, who play Friday at No.7 North Carolina, will also give more time to walk-on Courtney Hunt , a 5-foot-8 guard who previously was on roster at Charlotte and Jacksonville.

THERE THEY ARE: If the depth concerns of Robert McCullum 's men's basketball team make you curious what some of the players who've left the program in the past two years are doing, here's the answer: Nothing much to make you miss them.

Forward Yusuf Baker , who played for the Bulls in 2002-03 but was dismissed before McCullum's first season, is at West Virginia Tech, a Division II school. Forward Maurice Mobley , who left before last season, is a reserve at Division II Minnesota-Crookston, where he's averaging six points.

Forward Sam Barber , dismissed from the team in January 2004, is at Bethune-Cookman, where he's averaging 7.5 points as a first-year starter. Guard Danny Oglesby , who quit in October 2003, is averaging 9.7 points off the bench as a junior at Fairfield.

Two of last year's Bulls are sitting out as transfers, with center Konimba Diarra at College of Charleston and guard Montavious Waters eligible to begin play at Mercer after this semester.

THIS AND THAT: A poll at the Kansas City Star 's site, kcstar.com, asks fans who they'd like Kansas State to hire to replace Bill Snyder . USF coach Jim Leavitt is drawing 18 percent of the votes after 3,500-plus ballots, but that's a distant second to Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables , who has 49 percent. ... USF still has two openings for its 2006 football schedule, but look for an announcement soon that covers not only next season but future schedules as well. The Bulls have been in discussions with schools including Nebraska, Oklahoma and N.C. State about home-and-home series and declined an invite to play a second "guarantee" game at Penn State, which is in talks about a two-game deal with USF.

--Greg Auman covers USF athletics. He can be reached at auman@sptimes.com Check out his "USF Bulletin" blog online at www.sptimes.com/blogs/usf

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]