What do Georgia football players make on the SAT? New study reveals answer
For the past year, a University of Georgia committee has been conducting a “self-study” of the school’s athletics program — a review required every 10 years by the NCAA from Division I schools. The resulting report is 148 pages long, and you can read it all here if you like.
Here are a few things that jumped out at me:
- The report compares the standardized-test scores of UGA student-athletes to the general student population.
All male students who entered UGA in 2007 -– the most recent year covered by the report -– had an average standardized-test (SAT and converted ACT) score of 1250. By comparison, male student-athletes who initially enrolled in 2007 had an average score of 998. Football players had an average of 916 and men’s basketball players 906.
All female students who entered UGA in 2007 had an average standardized-test score of 1201, compared to 1058 for female student-athletes. Women’s basketball players averaged 955.
The report also provides comparisons of standardized-test scores for the general student population and student-athletes in the years 2004-2006.
The averages for all male students were 1245 in 2006, 1254 in 2005 and 1251 in 2004. For male athletes: 1017 in 2006, 1046 in 2006 and 990 in 2004. For football players: 901 in 2006, 935 in 2005 and 893 in 2004.
The report states: “The pool of student athletes capable of competing for NCAA and SEC championships tends to have lower standardized-test scores than the pool of students competitive for admission to the University of Georgia. Variances among sports groups are comparable to similar trends nationally and can be ascribed to differences in demographics among athletes competitive in different sports.”
- The report shows that Georgia’s athletes continue to trail the general student population in graduation rates. (These figures might be familiar, because graduation rates also are reported annually to the NCAA.)
Among all first-year students who entered UGA from 1999-2000 through 2002-03, 76 percent earned degrees within six years, compared to 57 percent of athletes. Broken down further, the report shows that 51 percent of Georgia’s male athletes, 65 percent of female athletes, 46 percent of football players, 17 percent of men’s basketball players and 63 percent of women’s basketball players earned degrees within six years.
“Graduation rates, particularly in male sports, have been a significant issue for the Athletic Association,” the report states. “Several new polices have been implemented that appear to be responsible for significant improvement in the academic success of all student-athletes.”
- The report says Georgia has more female than male student-athletes: 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent.
“It is striking for a FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision] athletics program to be majority female,” the report says. “Nationally, only 43.5% of student-athletes at FBS (formerly Division I-A) programs are female.”
Still, UGA has a smaller percentage of female student-athletes (51.6 percent) than of female undergraduates (57.5 percent).
- The report addresses a myriad of topics, including compliance with NCAA rules and governance of the athletics program. Prepared over the past year by a committee chaired by Rodney Bennett, UGA’s vice president for student affairs, the report is part of the recertification process for NCAA Division I members. UGA posted the report on a Website, www.uga.edu/ncaa_compliance/, and invited public comment by April 30.
“I am pleased to report to you that our committee found that the Athletic Association is one of the strongest in the nation, and remains committed to principles of ethical governance, dependable rules compliance, equity in terms of diversity and gender, and the highest possible level of student-athlete well-being,” Bennett wrote in a cover letter to “the University of Georgia community.”
“I attribute these qualities to an outstanding leadership team and a dedicated group of administrators, coaches, and student-athletes,” Bennett wrote. “The UGA Athletic Associaton has undergone a substantial culture change since the last self-study was completed, and it has been all for the good.”
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225 comments Add your comment
4 ncs are better than 1
April 21st, 2010
9:02 pm
“Maybe if we can teach them (uga football players) to read and write, they can get a job at the post office instead of being GARBAGE MEN.”- true quote from the Jan Kemp trial!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vince
April 21st, 2010
9:07 pm
Kim Z…Sorry for the long time between posts.
I know Emory has a law school. I went there. I just don’t consider it the primary factory for lawyers in the state.
As for the facts I wrote about the correlations between the SAT and IQ…..That is merely statistical fact that I thought others would be interested in. It isn’t some opinion I dreamed up. True, some folks say the SAT is racially biased, but do you know what that means? A test is considered racially biased if a certain percentage of a culture scores lower on it. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with the test. For instance, if I asked 100 people, “What is 20% of 200?” and fewer whites knew the answer than Asians you could say that question had a cultural, or racial bias. Bias doesn’t speak to the validity of a test…only the responses given by certain cultures/races.
AltamahaDawg
April 21st, 2010
9:07 pm
It’s like one of those questions on a standardized test.
A. UGA75 had a daughter.
B. The daughter had a friend
C. Some friends are male
D. Some male get accepted to Gt.
which is true:
A,
B,D
A,C,D
all of the above.
Of cource, all standardized test are racist so don’t worry , nobody expects you to take a shot at it.
AltamahaDawg
April 21st, 2010
9:16 pm
“The US education systen is a JOKE. You can partly blame that on all the UGA graduates that are Teachers.”
This is the crap the put out of tech these days?
OK you are a white guy making fun of Black people AND tech graduates now, is that it?
And what is wrong with a state of 10 million residence having several million fans of the State University? On what planet is that somehow an evil thing? On what planet would that NOT be the norm?
Vince
April 21st, 2010
9:17 pm
KimZ…
I guess that depends on which public schools you attend. My kids were challenged in their Gwinnett public schools and college has been a breeze for them.
Also, I have found UGA teachers to be the very best you can hire. I would gladly take a school full of them.
North Georgia Dawg
April 21st, 2010
9:19 pm
Does it really matter..? Those kids are there to play their respective sports (Football) and that is their number one priority. I don’t give a rats azz if they score a 1210 or a 210. Please tell me when the last time a Rhodes Scholar put 92,000 in Sanford Stadium. Why do we act like we care when we really don’t. It’s all about self determination. If they want it bad enough they will score high on the SAT, make good grades and subsequently graduate. It’s such BS that we (the public) act like this is such a big deal. I just want us to win a freak’n National Championship!
KimZ's Package
April 21st, 2010
9:26 pm
Vince thanks for the post and you are correct in my F..edup MIND. HAHAHA. I never said the test was bad/racist, but people do SAY that is a reason some students don’t do well. Truth be told I think all high school dropouts should have to join the Military for 4 years. If a High school student isn’t going to college or doesn’t have a job the day after graduation then they should have to spend 2 yrs. in the military. It is easy to be a LIBERAL DEMOCRAT as a student when mommy and daddy pay the bills or when you are old and need the Govt. to support you. If you are in your middle years and can work and raise a family then being a Democrat is a JOKE.
AltamahaDawg
April 21st, 2010
9:27 pm
UGA75, “If UGA players are so dumb . . . why is Tech recruiting them too?”
Kim already answered: “What I am saying is UGA uses Black Athletes for the betterment of the school and I still can’t understand why the Black Student would go to UGA. If it were not for sports I don’t think UGA would have any Black Students.”
Vince
April 21st, 2010
9:29 pm
KimZ…
You fail to make sense. I don’t understand your talk of politics. I’m an independent.
KimZ's Package
April 21st, 2010
9:38 pm
Altamaha: TECH will TEACH then UP where as UGA will coach/educate the same players DOWN. Coach Richt I nee $500 for bail can you help me? I will be nice to the water girl and my friends will buy a Ford truch and some new carpet. Can you HELP me COACH more that giving me a chance at a Degree and a chance to play college footbal? Can you Help me Coach PLEASE?
KimZ's Package
April 21st, 2010
9:44 pm
VINCE you are an Independent? Good for y0u. What do your carry? I like my Sigsaur P226 on my hip and my S&W .38 snub on my Ankle. The glock 40 is great, but I am only 175 lbs and it shows the buldge.
KimZ's Package
April 21st, 2010
10:00 pm
Have to leave. Iknow that kills you mbloggers, buy my dag jsut brought home a babby rabbit from the pasture and I have to patch him up, put him in a 10gal fish tank with ceder chips an get the milk in an Eye dropper. What You will do to make life better for others.
Georgia safety transferring | UGA sports blog
April 21st, 2010
10:20 pm
[...] Study reveals athletes’ SAT scores. [...]
collegedude
April 22nd, 2010
12:01 am
these scores by themselves mean absolutely nothing. Not very good reporting. UGA could have the highest student athlete scores in the NCAA & then this looks very different, just the same if they had the lowest student athlete scores in the NCAA. I’m pretty sure neither are the case, but without a reference, the numbers are worthless.
Context Please
April 22nd, 2010
1:24 am
An average SAT score of 900 means that our football players, on average, scored better than 42% of those who took the SAT, which is typically taken by only those who plan to attend college. The disparity between SAT scores of athletes and the average student at a Tier One school should not bother any sports fan who is a realist. However, the fact that graduation rates are less than 50% is disturbing, though the fact that a significant percentage of our players leave for the NFL after 4 years or less mitigates that somewhat. What this article is missing is long-term trend information–showing how these stats compare to the 80’s and 90’s–multi-school comparison showing how we stack up compared to other universities with major athletic programs and similar academic rigor.
Allan
April 22nd, 2010
5:37 am
Letting kids in because they’re good athletes happens even at Harvard. I know the athletic department tried to get a 4 star RB recruit with a 24 on the ACT(max is 36, average in general student body is 34). That shows you how low they’re willing to go – and Harvard isn’t even Div 1A so it shouldn’t matter. However, they still offer admission to some of these athletes who just end up transferring after a year because they can’t handle the coursework or flunking out. It’s not fair to the kids, a real disservice to them.
AltamahaDawg
April 22nd, 2010
7:18 am
Yea, your debate skills, logic, and great attention to detail and facts, are a testament to tech’s “teach them up” program.
dawgma
April 22nd, 2010
7:27 am
Just makes my D1 son with a 1400+ SAT that much more marketable.
I wonder what the GT basketball team SAT look like? Like 900? Don’t kid yourself T-nerds.
TechMaster
April 22nd, 2010
8:57 am
Most of UGA’s players are African-American but most of the student population is white—why is that?
GT BBall Fan
April 22nd, 2010
10:49 am
Dawgma – Talking SAT and Basketball now! One Question – How many points is a 3 pointer worth? You are now eligible for UGA’s Basketball team. Sic em!
Ron Mexico
April 22nd, 2010
11:06 am
My guess is everyone commenting on this is sub 600. I think you get that for getting your name right too LOL.
Devildog
April 24th, 2010
6:58 am
If they spent just a LITTLE more time studying, maybe there wouldn’t be so many drunk and disorderly arrests in Athens.
The Dawgs really go for the lowest common denominator, don’t they? The word “dumb” comes to mind.
And think about this: Many of these strong, well-conditioned, varsity athletes aren’t smart enough to pass the written test at a Marine Recruiting Station.
Their legacy: None can truthfully say they went to the UGA. Really, they “stayed” in Athens a few years.
cha
April 28th, 2010
10:11 pm
blacks & hispanics will always be push along just look at how obama got to be president they cleaned him up polished and pushed him through for free taught him how to play the game and got him graduated and now he has No clue on how to run the most influential country in the world the man who whet to the best universities came out with a law degree no less all for free and Never held a job and now is president look at that I’d like to see his SAT score but like his birth certificate and college transcripts we will never know will we?
Monroe's first Redcoat
April 29th, 2010
8:47 am
@KimZ – Before you post one more comment, correctly define :racist”.
FranktheFalcon
April 29th, 2010
10:15 pm
I know a guy that made a 1400 and was accepted to Ga. Tech. He said he made 600 the first time that he took it, and he made 800 the last time that he took it. In his mind, he made 1400 on the SAT. LOL