Byers times two at Florida school

When tennis player Anna Hallbergson of Barry University was honored with a Walter Byers Scholarship last month, she carved out a small place in history for her school. Barry, a Division II institution, became the first school to have two Byers winners.

In 1997, volleyball standout Marya Morusiewicz became the first Barry student-athlete to be recognized as a Byers scholar.

The Byers Scholarships were established in 1988 to recognize the contributions of the former NCAA executive director by encouraging excellence in academic performance by student-athletes.

G. Jean Cerra, Barry vice-provost and dean and senior woman administrator, said outstanding academic achievement by Barry student-athletes should come as no surprise. She said the institution recruits prospective student-athletes who have performed both academically and athletically. Once in school, the athletes are closely monitored, with study hall attendance being mandatory.

But the biggest key to success may be a demanding policy on classroom attendance. If a student-athlete misses two classes in any one subject, that individual is suspended for a week and misses the next scheduled competition. If a student-athlete misses four classes in any subject, that person is kicked off the team and loses his or her athletics scholarship.

While the academic policies are demanding, the results are gratifying for Cerra, who said she was lured out of retirement when Barry gave her the opportunity to prove that education and athletics can coexist at a high level. Barry helped the process along by making Cerra a dean and giving her control over academic policies.

"I felt strongly that we could field competitive teams with good student-athletes," she said.

And she was right.

In addition to the academic recognition, Barry student-athletes have won numerous other campus awards while taking active roles in community service. More than 60 percent of Barry's student-athletes have grade-point averages exceeding 3.000.

On the field, Barry finished third among Division II institutions in 1998 in the Sears Directors' Cup all-sports competition (it has finished in the top 25 every year the ranking has been compiled). In 1998, Barry was the top finisher among Division II private institutions.

NFL offers head start

A free program offered by the National Football League aims to help 150 New York City high-school players prepare for life as college student-athletes. The four-week program, held last month, consisted of two weeks of academic assistance and counseling and two weeks of on-field football training.

The academic sessions were intended to expose the students to academic requirements for Division I play, including core courses, qualifying grades and test scores. The football training is designed to emphasize fundamentals. High-school teachers, counselors and football coaches from the New York area taught the sessions.

"Due to a lack of resources, public high-school kids -- especially in the inner city -- are generally unaware of the academic requirements needed to land an athletics scholarship and are deficient in the fundamentals of the game," said Paul Pasqualoni, head football coach at Syracuse University. "This program will improve the quality of play at the high-school level and provide additional support in academic counseling."

Seeking NGWSD photos

Did your university celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day this year? Did you take photographs of your events? The NCAA News is interested in doing a special feature on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and we would like to feature many of the events hosted by member schools and organizations.

Please send your NGWSD photos to Kay Hawes, NCAA News assistant editor, at khawes@ncaa.org or to Hawes at The NCAA News, P.O. Box 6222, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, by June 30. Please indicate whether you would like your photos returned. Photos used will depend on photo quality and space available.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Looking back

5 years ago: Representatives from the NCAA and the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition continue discussing ways in which the two groups can work together in improving minority affairs in intercollegiate athletics. The discussions include Jackson's desire for allowing coaches greater latitude in interacting with young minorities, which is the goal of the Coalition's "Reclaim Our Youth" campaign, where early and positive intervention in the lives of troubled youth is the top priority. Discussions also include the NCAA's efforts to align with other sports organizations to form a Citizenship Through Sports Alliance that will focus on ethical-conduct and sportsmanship issues. (The NCAA News, June 7, 1995)

10 years ago: College Football Association coaches, under pressure from college presidents to improve graduation rates in football, call on the NFL to reschedule minicamps and combines to keep athletes from missing class time. To that end, the CFA by resolution agrees to ban NFL scouts from film rooms and facilities of the more than 60 CFA member schools until the league becomes more sensitive to the problem. The action comes after the NFL for the first time unconditionally drafted underclassmen who still had eligibility remaining if they declared for the draft. (The NCAA News, June 6, 1990)

15 years ago: The Pacific-10 Conference asks that betting lines on college sports contests involving Pac-10 teams no longer be broadcast or published in the conference's geographic area. The action follows a similar request from the Atlantic Coast Conference that was made after a point-shaving investigation at Tulane University. Subsequently, however, the ACC's request is unanimously denied by the eight newspapers in the conference's region. (The NCAA News, May 1, 1985, and June 5, 1985)