Raising the athletic performance rate and increasing the sanctions against teams that do not meet academic requirements sets a higher standard for colleges and universities.

The primary purpose of going to a higher education institution is to receive an education, not to participate in athletics. Athletics must be secondary; ‘student’ comes first in the student-athlete title. But the trend of student-athletes at multiple universities, particularly basketball players, leaving campus early or becoming academically ineligible presents a problem that must be addressed.

The new rate would require a team to graduate about half of its players. This should not be an unrealistic expectation. The University of Connecticut has already been excluded from the 2013 NCAA Tournament because of its poor ratings. Syracuse University has lost basketball scholarships from the NCAA in the past because of poor APR scores.

Practice and game schedules may make it difficult for student-athletes, but they must be able to succeed in academics as well. Athletes must take advantage of the academic resources available on campus.

By raising APR expectations, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors created a new incentive for schools to focus on academics. Universities do not want to have to take scholarships away from players or to miss tournaments, so the higher APR standards force universities to do better.

Universities run the risk of putting ‘athlete’ ahead of student by failing to meet academic standards.