AROUND THE STATE

USC's key programs fail, avoid penalties

McClatchy Newspapers

COLUMBIA --

South Carolina needed a bailout to avoid losing a scholarship in football and incurring additional penalties in men's basketball after the Gamecocks' signature programs failed to meet NCAA guidelines for academic progress.

But officials expect the numbers to get better.

The hope is that when the NCAA releases its Academic Progress Rate scores next year, the Gamecocks will not be forced to rely on waivers to make the grade.

"That's absolutely the goal," USC compliance director Jennifer Stiles said Tuesday shortly after the APR was released. "All of our coaches are very aware of the APR and how it impacts their programs, whether its academic eligibility or transfers."

The football team's four-year APR average of 921 fell below the 925 threshold that triggers immediate penalties for programs that had players leave while ineligible.

But the NCAA approved USC's request for a waiver, which was based on the number of players who were kicked off the team after Steve Spurrier's arrival and the Gamecocks' APR improvement in the years since.

Stiles said the football team's single-year APR numbers have improved from 895 in 2004-05 to 943 in 2006-07, the last year included in this year's data.

The men's basketball team has not fared as well.

USC's multi-year average was 899, which subjected the Gamecocks to both immediate and historical penalties, which are imposed on teams with scores of 900 or lower.

Realizing it would be below the 925 threshold, USC took its scholarship hit a year early when it did not replace the scholarship lost when forward Mike Jones was dismissed from the university a year ago.

The Gamecocks avoided a public reprimand, the sanction for a first-time historical penalty, when the NCAA granted their appeal.

Under former coach Dave Odom, the Gamecocks' multi-year APR average dropped from 917 in 2004-05 to 899 in 2006-07.

Schools falling below 900 must file an academic improvement plan to the NCAA. USC's plan includes three components that the school has already implemented with the football and men's basketball teams:

Sending an academic adviser to away games to conduct study-hall sessions during trips

Strengthening its class attendance policy

Conducting more one-on-one interviews with prospects during the admissions process.

"Coaches are starting to understand it much better," USC faculty athletics representative Bill Bearden said. "It's especially going to help with retention. Part of that is taking in stronger students that are engaged in their studies."

What about Clemson?CLEMSON | Clemson's men's basketball team will avoid punishment despite not having a passing Academic Progress Rate.

Although they fall below the cut-off score of 925 for their four-year APR average, the Tigers were spared losing a scholarship because they did not have a player who failed to earn one of his retention points.

Larry LaForge, Clemson's NCAA faculty representative, said the team could have been subject to penalty if it had an 0-for-2 athlete - meaning the player did not get a point for either academic retention or keeping his athletic eligibility.

When that occurs the team cannot fill the scholarship vacated by the athlete who left with ineligible status.

The basketball team's four-year score was 920, a vast improvement from last year's 894 three-year average. In order to reach that mark, it scored a perfect 1000 during the 2006-07 year, LaForge said.

Had Clemson not risen above a 900 average, it could have been subject to a historical penalty for failing to show progress.

When it remained below the 900-mark last year, it submitted to the NCAA a plan for further helping players with tutoring and advisement this past season. That plan has been tweaked for next season.

The NCAA did not subject sports such as basketball to penalty in the APR's first three years because their small roster sizes skewed data. However, that exemption expired this year in most cases and will be phased out completely next year.

The school's next-lowest APR average was a 944 by the men's tennis team.

Clemson's football team notched a 950 average, while the baseball squad had a 966 - both ranking between the 70th to 80th percentiles in their respective sports.

Sixteen of the school's 19 programs improved their average from the previous year.

The rowing team posted the highest APR (992).

Other S.C. schools

Three other programs at South Carolina colleges (not including Coastal Carolina) lost partial or whole scholarships based on substandard APR figures - the College of Charleston's baseball and men's basketball teams and Winthrop's men's cross country team.