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 Vandal center, Adam Korby, accompanied by offensive guards Kris Anderson, left and Mike Iupati, right, hikes the ball to quarterback Nathan Enderle during practice Wednesday afternoon on the SprinTurf.( Nick Groff/Argonaut
The Vandals are once again struggling through a football season in which wins seem nearly impossible and fans are increasingly finding better use of their time on Saturdays than supporting their team.
Matthew Leituala, director of academic support services, said what fans forget about those players on the field is that they compete all week when they walk into the classroom, and while they may not win on Saturday, they’re working hard to win come Monday.
“We want our student athletes to compete in the classroom and compete in their individual field of play,” he said. “That’s important to us.”
Leituala came to Idaho from Washington State University the same time Idaho coach Robb Akey arrived, and said they’ve worked together to build an academic program that fits the needs of UI and has support from the entire athletic program.
“Any academic program can be the most beautifully well-sounded academic program out there,” Leituala said. “But without the support of the coaches, without the commitment from the student athletes, the program is not worth very much.”
Leituala said the component Akey and his staff find most important is the desire from the athletes to graduate from UI with a major they’re passionate about.
Leituala said from the time they begin recruiting the athletes, he emphasizes to them the importance of having a major they will enjoy; he said he believes it’s hard to be successful if you aren’t enjoying what you’re
learning about.
In Akey’s second season as coach, his staff is seeing the fruits of their labor as the team’s grade point average has risen to 2.57, compared to the team’s 2.36 GPA when he arrived two years ago.
“I’m happy where we are because of where we started,” Leituala said. “But we’re still moving up, we’re still getting better, we’re still increasing
our GPA,”.
The increase is over a five-semester period, and the team hit some bumps along the way.
During the spring of 2007, the team’s GPA was up to 2.56, but then quickly dropped the following semester to 2.39. This decrease, along with athletes having problems with the law, led Akey to dismiss 17 scholarship players from his team last season, a move he said had its consequences but in the end brought the team closer together.
“We had a number of these players that are with us thank us for getting that nonsense out of the way,” Akey said. “This program is built on character basically. I want things being done the right way, being accountable, being a first-class person.”
Akey reiterated the importance of school and said the No. 1 goal of the football program is to have every student graduate, and as coach he said it’s his job to help them do so.
“Because you come to college to get your degree, you get the opportunity to be able to play football, and it’s my job to help them be good football players,” Akey said. “It’s also my job to help guide them in the way they need to go to get their school work done.”
Athletic Director Rob Spear said education is important to Akey, and said the academic philosophy of a coach is something they look at closely prior to hiring them. Spear said at the end of the day, it’s the coach who decides whether the athletes will play
or not.
“Coach Akey takes academics seriously, and if you’re not performing in the classroom, you’re not going to have the opportunity to perform on the field,” Spear said.
Spear said he is happy with the direction the program is going academically. He said the number that’s important to look at is the academic progress rate, a number that scores students on their eligibility and the ability to retain eligibility.
To get the team’s APR, the number of points earned times the number of athletes is divided by the number of points possible. The NCAA requires every team to have at least a 92.5 percent APR, a number UI has had trouble reaching in the past.
Last year the team managed to reach a 93.4 percent APR, but the year following, prior to the 17 players being removed, the team earned an 88 percent APR and had not earned a number above 92.5 percent since the 2003-2004
school year.
“It’s school first and football second,” said co-team captain Adam Korby. “You come here to get
a degree.”
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