By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – When he was asked earlier this season about his proudest moments as Old Dominion's football coach, Ricky Rahne said one of his biggest had nothing to do with blocking and tackling.
It was when he learned that the football team earned a cumulative 3.10 grade-point-average last spring.
That's the highest GPA in program history and, unusually high for an FBS football team, said Ron Moses, executive associate athletic director for internal operations.
"You don't see a lot of FBS football teams over a 3.0," he said.
And it wasn't just the football team that has been cracking the books and studying hard. ODU athletics had its highest cumulative GPA ever at 3.31 last spring. Women's tennis led all teams with a 3.87 while swimming, at 3.53, was the top men's team.
In all, 17 teams had a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Moreover, 186 athletes, an incredible 42 percent of all who compete at ODU, were on the dean's list, meaning they had a 3.4 GPA or higher. Forty-eight of those students, or 11 percent of ODU's athletes, had a perfect 4.0 GPA.
That's impressive considering how much time and effort athletes pour into their sports. I work in the athletic complex, and even though it's not baseball season, your hear the crack of the bat every afternoon and see baseball players circulating through the weight room.
It's not tennis or golf season but ODU's men's and women's teams are busy playing in tournaments. It's a grind to play in college and flourish academically and it's remarkable how many athletes manage to do just that.
The 186 dean's list athletes, a record number for ODU, will be honored at halftime of Saturday's football game against Louisiana Tech. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
ODU's athletes excelled during a difficult time. Because of the pandemic, all fall sports teams, except football, competed during the spring.
Every team did so in a so-called "bubble," in which they agreed that other than going to class, they would not associate with people other than their teammates.
The football team practiced and had the spring game and players spent their time away from the field in a bubble.
"It was a very trying time for all of our coaches and student-athletes," Athletic Director Wood Selig said. "Their dedication and sacrifice were remarkable.
"All of our coaches and Ron Moses and his entire staff deserve a lot of credit."
Moses heads the department of academic services, student-athlete development and diversity and inclusion.
Amy Lynch working with basketball player Kalu Ezipke
At least one person is assigned to work with students in all sports, and there was a special effort to lift the GPA of the football team, which until Rahne was named coach, had lagged behind most other athletic teams.
"A lot of that stuff is the culture and expectation," Moses said of college football teams, which often do poorly compared to other sports academically.
Football players are more likely to come from more difficult socio-economic circumstances than athletes on many other teams.
"For many football players, the expectation is to just stay eligible, that you do what you need to do and go out and play. We wanted to raise that expectation to a 3.0," Moses said.
Raising that expectation involved more than holding study hall or tutoring students. Morgan Sumner, Sarah Walker and Rachel Nelson hold what they call a
summer bridge program, where they work with players on everything from email etiquette to finding classes that fit their practice schedule.
"We talk a lot about time management skills and academic persistence," Moses said. "We get them enough support so that we're not hand holding them, but we're here and we care."
ODU also brought in former players Messiah deWeaver (player development) and Tyler Fisher (academics intern) to serve as role models. Both graduated from ODU on time and deWeaver earned his MBA.
ODU, in part in cooperation with the National Football League Players Association, had half a dozen NFL players talk with the football team via zoom, including Washington Football Team defensive lineman T.Y. McGill, who went back to North Carolina State to get his degree while playing in the NFL.
"Our academic staff is unbelievable and the reason they're so good is because they care about our kids so much," Rahne said. "They're not here just to help them in the classroom, but to help them see the bigger picture, how all of this is going lead to them being successful in life.
"They give them a structured environment that also has some freedom of choice, which is what they're going to face as adults in the workforce. They're going to have obligations but they're also going to have choices. They're giving them life lessons that will truly help them out in the future.
"I've told our guys that a great GPA in high school or college, it doesn't close any doors. It only opens doors. They're not turning down people for jobs because they're too smart.
"We want to make sure to keep as many doors open in our lives as humanly possible."
ODU's Academic Support Team:
Erin Cousins, director of student-athlete education support services
Kristin Eden, director of student-athlete academic services; works with volleyball, men's and women's swimming and women's basketball.
Sarah Walker, assistant director of student-athletic academic services, who works with football, field hockey, lacrosse.
Tay Hawker, athletics academic adviser/student-athlete development; coordinator/international relations specialist, who works with men's and women's sailing and
men's and women's soccer.
Amy Lynch, athletics academic advisor, who works with baseball, men's and women's tennis, and men's basketball and also focuses on community services projects
Morgan Sumner, athletics academic advisor who works with football, men's and women's golf and rowing
Rachel Nelson, athletics academics advisor who works with football and the cheer and dance teams
Precious Rose, graduate assistant academic services/digital projects and social media manager
Messiah deWeaver, player development/academic assistant
Aliyah Newman, graduate assistant for student-athlete welfare
Alexi Manley, academic services/mental health intern
Tyler Fisher, football academics intern
Brianna Sowatskey, academics/student-athlete development intern
Minium: Football Joined 16 Other Teams at ODU in Surpassing a 3.0 Grade-Point-Average
