One of the most significant, but perhaps least acknowledged, groups involved in the success of student-athletes is the faculty who are charged with challenging them academically.

The faculty's role in intercollegiate athletics always has been important, but it is even more pronounced as the academic-reform movement continues to evolve. What may not be apparent is that an increased emphasis on academics requires buy-in from faculty members who sometime view student-athletes in a stereotyped, negative light.

Historically, some faculty members have been biased against student-athletes, while others have "gone easy" on them because of their interest in sports. Most student-athletes, though, would prefer to be treated like any other student, with an acknowledgement that they occasionally encounter schedule problems.

To be sure, faculty perceptions of student-athletes vary as widely as individual faculty members and their areas of expertise. The vast majority view and treat student-athletes the same as they would any other member of the student body, and most also understand the role athletics plays in their university's mission as well as the value it brings to the educational experience. In many cases, professors may not even realize a student is also a student-athlete until the athlete asks to miss a class or an exam or requests some other type of accommodation.

But exceptions do exist, and some student-athletes find themselves fighting an uphill battle when faculty members have a negative perception of athletics.

Ian Gray, chair of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, discovered that firsthand during his freshman year at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. As most student-athletes are encouraged to do by their coaches and academic services representatives, Gray approached one professor on the first day of classes with his team's schedule and a letter from the athletics department explaining his role as a student-athlete.

"The professor said to rip them up because he wasn't interested," Gray said. "He told me that his attendance policy was the same for all students."

Initially, Gray thought he would redshirt his freshman season, but he ended up competing toward the end of the fall, which caused him to miss two exams. Gray tried to work with the professor, even offering to take the exams a week in advance.

Although he considered withdrawing from the class, Gray decided it was better to receive a failing mark than have a permanent withdrawal on a transcript he hoped would be sent to medical schools sometime down the road.

"I ended up getting straight A's that semester and a D+ in his class. I got A's on the two exams I made and zeroes on the ones I missed. I retook the class with another professor and got an A+. It was a very frustrating situation," Gray said.

In addition to the few faculty members who simply are unwilling to make accommodations for student-athletes, there are professors who subscribe to the more stereotypical viewpoint of student-athletes as coddled, less academically inclined and less interested in their coursework. Those faculty members may be reluctant to take responsibility for those student-athletes' educations, making things even more challenging for student-athletes.

To be fair, it is a two-way street, said Michael Miranda, faculty athletics representative at Plattsburgh State University of New York and chair of the Division III Management Council. He said that in many ways, a greater portion of the responsibility rests with the student-athlete.

"This is something I emphasize every year when we have various meetings with the teams. They have to make the effort to talk with faculty and explain what's going on. Invite them to a contest, be responsible, don't start missing classes before the season even starts," Miranda said. "From the faculty perspective, about all you can ask for is that they not treat student-athletes remarkably different than they would treat anyone else."

More contact equals more respect

Student-athletes acknowledge there is a disconnect between themselves and a few faculty members on just about every campus, and they are quick to point out that student-athletes must disprove the stereotypes that some professors hold.

Gray believes that the faculty opinion often is skewed by their overall perceptions of athletics. He says that many faculty members don't recognize how intercollegiate athletics benefits the campus community as a whole.

"A lot of faculty we've spoken with regard even smaller athletics programs as over-consuming the resources of the school. Sometimes that frustration and opinion about athletics is transferred to the student-athletes they see every day," Gray said.

As faculty athletics representative and a long-time faculty member at Central Missouri State University, Paul Engelmann has discovered that faculty members who have not had much experience with student-athletes tend to set lower expectations for them in terms of academic performance.

"My experience is that the more contact they have with them, the more they respect them for what they do and their academic abilities," said Engelmann, who chairs the Division II Management Council.

The same seems to be true of student-athletes who interact more with their professors. Patti Adorna, senior associate athletics director for academic support services at Monmouth University, said the issue is that student-athletes, and students in general, may be intimidated by professors, but once the ice is broken, they figure out that it helps them considerably.

"I've encountered professors who were amazed that I could be such a great student and then have such success on the track," said Tanya Nesbitt, former track and field student-athlete at Smith College and current first-year law student at George Washington University. "They were almost like cheerleaders -- in awe that people could do both things well."

Even as student-athletes and professors strive to form positive ties, coaches also play an integral role.

"The coaches have to be on board and they have to truly send the message that academics come first," Adorna said. "Without a coach's endorsement, I can speak to professors until I'm blue in the face. Until a coach says it, it's a completely different ball game."

Gray agrees that coaches are responsible for playing an active role in the academic lives of their athletes, which means being involved with faculty before problems materialize.

"I think coaches could do much more. One of the other factors that stimulates adverse effects for student-athletes and the negative outlook toward athletics is the separation between athletics and the general academic climate. I think it starts with athletics directors pushing coaches to be more involved," he said.

Best practices

Most professors value the positive role student-athletes play on campuses, but athletics departments and academia alike recognize that the issue is important enough to continue monitoring.

"The most critical part for me is what I call the contractual agreement -- that universities use student-athletes' skills and talents and provide the best education that we can. You need people on campuses to make sure that there is that kind of balance," said University of Michigan Faculty Athletics Representative Percy Bates.

Most schools have some type of support in place to help manage the relationship between student-athletes and professors. For the past 10 years, Central Missouri State has maintained a rather uncommon policy of requiring that all students -- not just student-athletes -- who miss class due to an approved university activity must be given an opportunity to make up any points that were available at the time of the absence.

Two years ago, Sacred Heart University instituted a faculty mentor program as a way of assisting faculty and student-athletes in gaining insight into each other's worlds. Kim Callicoate, senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator there, said it has been a big key for the athletics department in allowing student-athletes to interact with faculty in a nonscholarly setting.

On a more global scale, the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, an alliance of faculty senates representing Division I-A schools that aims to enhance and preserve the contributions athletics can make to academic life, has taken up the issue of the relationship between athletics and academics. That group's work yielded a best-practices document that offers a number of proposals and guidelines to assist faculty and others in a range of areas including admissions; scholarships; curricular integrity; time commitment, missed class time and scheduling of competitions; and policies concerning the office of academic advising for athletes.

Vanderbilt University professor Virginia Shepherd, a representative of COIA, points out that student-athletes will have to miss class, just like other students have to miss class for various reasons. Faculty need to be aware of those instances, and be understanding and willing to accommodate students.

In addition, the Division I SAAC is in the process of developing best practices for student-athletes who are having problems with professors.

The real goal of best practices is to let student-athletes know that they're not alone and to encourage an open and honest dialogue with professors, Gray said. He added that student-athletes must be committed to that professor's classroom if they expect to avoid stereotyping.

Michigan's Bates agreed, saying the best way to beat the stereotype is to display the proper academic behavior.

"If we don't address the faculty-perception issue," Bates said, "we risk losing credibility as it relates to the balance inherent in 'student-athlete.' "