Preliminary results from a Division I summer financial aid program for entering basketball student-athletes show an increased likelihood for improved academic performance from individuals in their first year of college.

The results from two years of a five-year pilot study support the notion that the program aimed at improving graduation rates in men's basketball, a demographic that has consistently under-performed academically compared to other student and student-athlete groups, may indeed be effective.

Data show, in fact, that so-called "at-risk" student-athletes, or those prospects with high-school core-course grade-point averages of 2.750 or lower, are the primary beneficiaries of the academic head start. The GPA effects observed during the first year are strongest among those student-athletes, regardless of race/ethnicity or gender. Program participants also maintain a significant edge in credit hours earned after their first year in school over student-athletes who did not take part.

The program, sometimes referred to as the "summer bridge program," is the result of a proposal that evolved from the Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues, a group established five years ago by the Board of Directors to improve basketball student-athletes' collegiate experience, change the recruiting process and enhance the image of the sport. The bridge program was one of the group's landmark proposals because it allowed schools to provide financial aid to entering men's and women's basketball student-athletes the summer before their first fall term. The Big Ten Conference submitted an amendment to the proposal (Proposal No. 99-120-C) to establish a six-hour minimum during the summer, and that is the version of the legislation the Board eventually adopted in April 2000.

The legislation was hailed as a way to allow schools to more quickly and efficiently acclimate prospects and transfers into the college environment and increase the likelihood of academic success. Proponents assumed that an early start on the front end would lead to an increased graduation rate on the back end. The proposal became effective for the summer of 2001, and Division I members agreed that the program would be tracked for five years to gauge the impact on graduation rates for basketball student-athletes before deciding on a permanent course of action.

GPA improvement

Though the two-year data do not yet reveal the effect on graduation, early indications are that program participants are at least more on track to graduate. Male basketball players who participated in the program in fact ended their freshmen year with an average of seven more credit hours than those who didn't participate.

"The first-year results we have observed are very promising and we will certainly be monitoring these first few summer bridge cohorts to see if the increases in credits earned and GPA attained translate to better progress toward and eventual graduation," said NCAA researcher Tom Paskus, assistant professor of education at the University of Denver.

Paskus and Todd Petr, NCAA managing director of research, helped administer the study. Surveys were mailed to all Division I institutions and responses were received from 226 schools in 2001 and 235 in 2002, return rates of 70 and 72 percent, respectively. The study reviewed academic data on 2,012 first-year basketball student-athletes in 2001 (464 in the summer bridge program) and 2,143 in 2002 (665 in the bridge program). Schools also were asked to survey the program participants. A total of 459 participants responded in 2001, 587 in 2002.

Survey results indicated that more than half of the Division I institutions participated in the program, and about one-quarter to one-third of all eligible student-athletes took part in the program during the two-year period. Participation in the program was strongly predictive of increased credits by the end of the first year. The effect for all demographic groups was between five and eight credit hours earned. And the GPA effects on African-American males in particular was strong -- on average about .15 GPA units more than their nonparticipant counterparts.

More importantly, Paskus noted, the academic head start carried over through the year. In other words, the summer hours were not used simply to buffer any down time during the regular academic year.

"The credit hours that participants earned that summer (six on average) seemed to encourage participants to maintain that pace," Paskus said. "They weren't just using those hours to slough off during the rest of the year."

Effects exceed costs

Participants surveyed also found the program valuable. In fact, 96 percent of student-athlete respondents said the summer bridge was either "very helpful" or "helpful." In addition, 98 percent said they would recommend it to others.

Survey results also indicated that participants balanced time on the court with time in class. One of the concerns about the program was that institutions might be inclined to use it to give prospects more of a head start in basketball than in school, but statistics do not support that concern. Participants on average spent about 12 hours per week in class and nine playing basketball.

Another concern from many administrators was the program's cost. Of those institutions surveyed that did not participate in the program, 97 percent cited cost as the factor.

The median cost for participating schools to administer the program was about $7,250. Fewer than 5 percent needed extra personnel, and about 70 percent conducted the program using just classes that were open to all students.

"Relative to other interventions among student-athletes, this seems to be a cost-effective method for improving academic performance among an academically at-risk group," Paskus said. "When you consider that only 75 percent of Division I football and men's basketball players who exhaust eligibility graduate, it would seem to make sense to nurture these types of programs."

Paskus said the research will continue to monitor the program's impact, particularly as participants near graduation, to see if the program achieves its goal.

There are two proposals currently in the Division I legislative pipeline that suggest incorporating the bridge program into other sports. Proposal No. 03-65 from the Division I Football Issues Committee would apply the program to football student-athletes, while Proposal No. 03-15 from the Southeastern Conference would apply it to all sports. The Division I Management Council is sponsoring an amendment to Proposal No. 03-15 that would restrict the program only to academically "at-risk" student-athletes.