National Consortium for Academics and Sports

Degree Completion Honor Roll

Members of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) are asked to commit to being active in the Degree Completion and Community Service Programs for former student-athletes. In the past 22 years more than 28,594 student-athletes have returned to schools to complete their degrees after their eligibility expired, including 343 Olympians and 9,474 professional athletes. As of 2007, 12,932 had graduated.

Student-athletes who entered the member institution on an athletic scholarship in a revenue or non-revenue sport in the 10 years prior to the institution joining the NCAS are eligible to be re-admitted, if academically eligible. Tuition is provided by the institution in the same proportion as it was during the student's last year of eligibility.

Student-athletes are able to continue their education as long as they are making progress toward their degree. In exchange for their tuition, returning former student-athletes participate in the schools community service and outreach program, where they meet with school-age youth to talk about a variety of critical issues for a minimum of ten hours per week. NCAS student-athletes volunteers have served 16,567,177 young people and donated more than 18 million hours of service.

If an NCAS member's former student-athlete wants to attend an NCAS school in another geographic location, member schools agree to help those former student-athletes transfer credits. Similarly, NCAS members will aid in facilitating the receipt of transfer credits of student-athletes from other NCAS schools.

NCAS members are not obliged to pay the cost of their students who attend other member schools. Likewise, they are not obliged to pay for former student-athletes from other NCAS schools to come to their institution. However, members do agree to attempt to reduce or eliminate barriers that exist between athletes and degree completion or other educational goals. Assistance should include academic advisement, academic advocacy, and, when necessary, negotiating on behalf of student-athletes with their former colleges and universities. Furthermore, assistance should become consistent with institutional policies, in the form of the assurance of affordability of higher education for student-athletes via loans, work-study programs, grants and other forms of financial assistance available to all students.

The NCAA has approved aid beyond the fifth year for student-athletes at NCAS member institutions. The ten hours per week is evaluated by the NCAA at a higher per hour rate than normally afforded former student-athletes in a university job, because of the value of public speaking fees.

2006-07 Degree Completion Program Honor Roll

University of Oklahoma

81

The Ohio State University
70

University of Kentucky
57

Texas A&M University
49

University of Texas at Austin
46

University of Nebraska
45

Temple University
35

University of California, Los Angeles
34

Indiana University
34

Auburn University
33

University of Maryland
32

University of Florida
30

Michigan State University
29

University of Wisconsin, Madison
29

California State University, Fullerton
26

University of Alabama
25

University of Louisville
25

University of Houston
23

University of Central Florida
23

Abilene Christian University
23

Florida State University
22

Georgia State University
22

Middle Tennessee State University
21

The Pennsylvania State University
18

Rutgers University
16

University of Illinois, Chicago
15

Oklahoma State University
15

California State University, Northridge
15

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
13

Lynn University
13

Eastern New Mexico State University
13

California State University, Long Beach
11

University of Cincinnati
10

The DCP program clearly is a win-win-win situation. It assists the university with its promise to graduate its student-athletes, the youth who are helped by former student-athletes to improve their lives, and the former student-athletes who achieve a personal goal that will positively affect the rest of their lives.

2006-07 Outreach and Community Service: 1,237,136 youth
Overall Outreach and Community Service: 16,567,177 youth
Overall Outreach and Community Service Hours: 18 million

Numbers are based on the information collected at the end of each academic year and compiled by the NCAS National staff. Information can be submitted by downloading the End of the Year Statistics form on the NCAS webpage and faxing it to (407) 823-3542 or via email at info@ncasports.org.