If a coach brings in student-athletes who cannot succeed, he/she is putting the program at risk of losing scholarships, postseason competition and ultimately, NCAA status. Coaches must continually evaluate recruits in order to bring in qualified student-athletes who can be successful and graduate. To continue with our positive graduation trends, it is essential that our recruits possess solid academic credentials. With all these noteworthy numbers, it is clear that we are invested in our student-athletes.

This 'stay and play' means if a student-athlete begins his/her career at Ole Miss and participates all four years, he/she has an 88 percent chance at graduation. Most notable is the Exhausted Eligibility Rate of 88 percent. With the GSR, the NCAA includes transfers in calculating graduation numbers. The Graduation Success Rate (GSR) is even higher at 78 percent. The 2009 Federal Graduation Rate for the general population was 56 percent while student-athletes graduated at a rate of 61 percent. The University of Mississippi is doing just that! The graduation rate for student-athletes has EXCEEDED the student-population for the past four years. The intent is to move student-athletes to graduation within five years of full-time enrollment. With the shift in focus from merely keeping the student-athlete eligible, NCAA Division I has established standards that reflect a student-athlete's progress toward a degree.

The OSAAS works to assess the best possible scenario for transfers so that they can keep working toward graduation. This can make it difficult to achieve what is known as 40/60/80 or percent of degree. This is not always as simple as it sounds since transfers will often 'lose' credits upon transferring.

Transfers must not only meet The University of Mississippi's admission standards for transfers, but also meet NCAA continuing eligibility rules. In the case of transfers, all the above information is reviewed but transfer courses are also evaluated for the appropriate equivalency. The Office of Student-Athlete Academic Support will look at this academic information in order to plan the services and programs to help that prospective student-athlete be successful. The academic evaluation of the recruit involves looking at core courses, GPA, and standardized test scores. The institution shares responsibility for ensuring the recruited prospect's initial eligibility. Prospects may register online at When Ole Miss recruits a prospect, they will put that individual on their Institutional Request List (IRL). Prospective student-athletes should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the conclusion of their junior year. In other words, Ole Miss has no special admission process for student-athletes. It is important to note that initial eligibility standards are not necessarily the same as admission standards, but for state schools in Mississippi, meeting NCAA initial eligibility is one of the admission criteria. Initial eligibility is a set of MINIMUM standardized academic requirements that must be met in order for a prospective student-athlete to participate at the Division I level. While many talk about the time demands and pressures of Division I athletics, truly comprehending what that entails is quite difficult.įor a prospective student-athlete, the first academic step is to meet initial eligibility. It is a formidable task to be a successful student-athlete. It is important for these prospective student-athletes to understand the rigors of being a collegiate student-athlete. When prospective student-athletes come to campus, the staff is available to meet with them to discuss the programs and services offered to help them achieve a degree from The University of Mississippi. The Office of Student-Athlete Academic Support (OSAAS) is the unit within athletics where this connection comes together. Blogs on academics and recruiting may seem unrelated, but they are very much connected. In some recent blogs on, Athletics Director Pete Boone provided insight on academics while Executive Associate Athletics Director Lynnette Johnson discussed the challenges of recruiting. Karen Schiferl is in her seventh year with the athletics department and serves as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Support. The Ole Miss athletics department's senior staff and leadership publish blogs on to offer fans added insight into the overall operation of the department.

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