If playing in the NCAA Tournament was based on academic performance, Syracuse wouldn’t have made it past the first round.

After two seasons during which basketball players have been declared academically ineligible, university officials are looking to improve their policies and practices by reorganizing the handling of athletics and academics for all student-athletes.

In recent months, the University Senate Committee on Athletic Policy voiced concerns about the academic policies and practices associated with student-athletes. In a Feb. 15 meeting, the committee met with Athletic Director Daryl Gross, who introduced a plan that would remove academics from the athletic department’s oversight.

“The committee was very concerned with what seemed to be an emerging pattern,” said Martha Hanson, temporary committee co-chair.

Former center Fab Melo was suspended last season and current forward James Southerland was suspended this season for academic ineligibility. Neither case was addressed specifically in the meeting, according to meeting notes obtained by The Daily Orange.

Gross is currently in Washington, D.C., for the NCAA Tournament and declined to comment.

During the meeting, Gross responded to questions about eligibility issues. He said “last year’s problem had been worked out, but somehow ‘broke down’ within 48 hours,” according to the meeting. The “more recent problem was a result of the increased level of oversight interest caused by last year’s problem,” according to the notes.

The university is currently a part of an ongoing NCAA inquiry, which Gross did not mention, according to the meeting notes.

The committee meets with Gross annually, although usually to address general athletic policy. The committee also has its annual meeting with Chancellor Nancy Cantor in April, when similar discussions might come up, Hanson said. She said the meeting with Gross went well, and he was very receptive to discussing the matter.

In the committee meeting, Gross opened the floor to questions. The questions focused on advising, tutoring, class attendance and athletic policy, among other topics.

Christine Himes, a member of the committee and professor of sociology, said there was nothing unusual about the meeting with Gross.

“Our charge as a senate committee is to be concerned with the policies that affect student athletes. That’s just what our committee’s job is to do,” Himes said.

Syracuse is known nationally for previous poor academic performances. During last year’s NCAA Tournament, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called out Syracuse as part of a group of schools that needed to improve academically.

Academic Progress Rate is the meter used by the NCAA to track the academic performances of university athletic teams. A rate of 900 out of 1,000 is roughly equivalent to a 45-percent NCAA graduation success rate. Duncan called for increasing the required APR to 930 for teams to be able to play in the tournament.

If judged by academic quality, Syracuse, with an APR of 936, would have lost to the University of Montana, which has an APR of 960, in the first round of the tournament this year.

Gross does not want the athletics department to run the academics oversight, and reorganization of the responsibilities is currently underway, he told the committee.

Gross also told the committee that several years ago, the person who handled academic oversight for the athletics department needed to be replaced. The internal promotion that filled the position ended up being “not experienced enough,” according to the meeting notes.

Andria Costello Staniec, associate provost for academic programs, will have overall responsibility as a result of the restructuring. A new position, assistant provost for student-athlete academic services, is a part of the reorganization and would be specifically responsible for athletic academic oversight, Gross told the committee.

The position was created as a part of “continuous improvements,” and to ensure SU provides its student-athletes with the integrated support they need to excel academically as Syracuse transitions to the Atlantic Coast Conference, said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs.

Quinn said the position was not created in relation to any NCAA investigation.

There is no date set for when the university would like to have the position filled, Quinn said.

Published on March 28, 2013 at 12:05 am

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride