ACC aims to educate prospects about new academic policies
A few months after the NCAA announced that it would institute a handful of new academic policies beginning in 2016, the ACC has launched an initiative to make college prospects more aware of the changes.
For prospective Division I student-athletes who are graduating from high school in 2016 or later, the student-athlete must graduate with a 2.3 GPA in order to be eligible as a true freshman in college. With this new requirement and others on the way, the ACC released a video to get the word out to prospects.
In addition to the 2.3 GPA requirement, student-athletes will be required to complete 10 of 16 “core courses” prior to their senior year of high school. The minimum 2.0 GPA requirement that is currently in place remains, but if a student-athlete falls between 2.0 and 2.3, the student-athlete will take an “academic redshirt.”
“Given the significant change to the future NCAA eligibility standards, our league felt it was important to play a role in educating as many future student-athletes especially through the avenues in which they consume information,” said ACC commissioner John Swofford. “We felt there was no better way to communicate this message than through our current student-athletes and let them express in their own words the importance of being prepared.”
With so many true freshmen coming in and making an immediate impact in the world of college football in recent years, this academic change will undoubtedly impact teams. It will be interesting to see if other leagues follow the ACC’s lead with similar initiatives.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
