UPDATED: Feb. 14, 2018 at 4:30 p.m.

It’s a concern raised by college athletes across the country. Students, particularly members of major revenue-generating sports, feel they are steered into certain majors by coaches, experts say.

“I think it’s been pretty prevalent,” said Billy Hawkins, a professor at the University of Houston who researches cultural issues surrounding college athletics. “Athletes … haven’t been able to major in areas of interest.”

Syracuse University is no different, some athletes have said.

The university’s Faculty Oversight Committee, a group that briefs Chancellor Kent Syverud on athletic policy each year, published a report last semester containing anonymous, NCAA-mandated exit interviews in which an unknown number of athletes said they were forced into majors “they did not want.”

Rick Burton, chair of the FOC, and Tommy Powell, an FOC member and assistant provost for student-athlete academic development, were not made available for an interview for this story, but have arranged to meet with The Daily Orange next week.

The Daily Orange found that, at the start of the season, there was a broad range of men’s lacrosse players majoring in different subjects across a total of seven schools and colleges, according to statistics on Cuse.com.

But 21.4 percent of the team is listed as majoring in communications and rhetorical studies. If 25 percent of a team is in the same academic major, “clustering” occurs, said Amanda Paule-Koba, an associate professor at Bowling Green State University who studies issues in college athletics.

Athletes may end up in specific majors because coursework is perceived as less rigorous, class schedules are more flexible or there are “friendlier” faculty who will be more likely to offer leniency for absences, Paule-Koba said.

Ali Harford | Presentation Director

There was also a broad range of women’s lacrosse team players in different majors. Just a handful of players are in the same academic major. Only three athletes are listed as majoring in communication and rhetorical studies, for example, according to Cuse.com.

“All prospective Syracuse University students, including student-athletes, indicate their major choice when they submit their application to the University,” said an SU spokesperson, in a statement to The Daily Orange on Monday night. “Students are then admitted into a particular major and college based on their preference and qualifications.

“Our student-athletes are students first and they come to school to learn and to map their education to fit their personal and career goals.”

If there are ever concerns raised by athletes regarding majors, Hawkins said individual colleges’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committees can report those issues to the NCAA’s national SAAC organization.

It’s been no secret that athletes have been “guided” into certain majors at some universities, said Robin Hardin, a professor of sport management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. An NCAA report published in February 2013 found that, of more than 120 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision schools, 51 percent of faculty athletic representatives said they thought athletes “cluster” in some majors. SU is a D-I FBS school.

The Daily Orange found that, of SU’s football team last season, 19 percent of players majored in communication and rhetorical studies, according to Cuse.com.

“I think it’s become more discussed now,” Hardin said. “Student-athletes are starting to get empowered, a little bit.”

Paule-Koba’s research, a 2014 survey of Big Ten and Mid-American Conference athletes across several sports and graduating classes, found that 29.9 percent of athletes did not have majors that aligned with their career aspirations.

Of SU’s women’s basketball team, five of 17 athletes — or 29.4 percent of players — are listed in the same major, communication and rhetorical studies. Four of the 15 athletes on SU’s men’s basketball team have majors listed on Cuse.com, and all four of those majors are different.

“As long as your major aligns with your career aspirations, clustering isn’t a problem,” Paule-Koba said.

Ali Harford | Presentation Director

Math testing is a key reason as to why some students are filtered into certain majors more than others, Hardin said.

“If they come in deficient in math, they’re going to tell you to ‘stay away from these majors because they’re math-heavy,’” Hardin said.

The communication and rhetorical studies major at SU does not require students to take specific math courses.

One of the most nationally recognized cases of a college athlete saying coaches prioritized team eligibility over academics came in 1991. Robert Smith, a then-running back at Ohio State University, quit the football team after he said sports interfered with his pre-medical studies, Hawkins said.

Smith, though, eventually rejoined the football team for its 1992 season.

Michelle Richardson, a professor of sport management at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, said some students’ parents are just happy their kids go to school on a sports scholarship. They don’t mind what majors their kids are put in, Richardson said.

“The NCAA loves to brand them as student-athletes,” Paule-Koba said. “That student piece is missing, for a lot of them.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Amanda Paule-Koba was misnamed. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on February 13, 2018 at 1:01 am

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek