The NCAA, during March Madness, touted some of its former college athletes who have “turned pro” in professions that have little to do with athletics. It was a neat little television promo, though the NCAA is hypocritical a lot of times on some academic issues.
Major Division I football and basketball players are under the microscope when it comes to graduation rates among college athletes. Their seasons seem to stretch on forever, and with travel and television exposure, many power conferences seem more like a pro minor league than an amateur endeavor.
But what about college baseball, which gets very little money from major television networks? How in the world does a Division I player juggle a course load during the spring semester while playing a game nearly every day?
Division I Towson University is slated to play at least 55 games this season, and the Tigers played 58 last season. Maryland-Baltimore County played 50 games last year, the Terps of College Park played 56, Coppin State played 52, while Navy had just 35 contests.
There are several local college baseball players who are able to balance a relevant academic load and the grind of almost-daily games, which many times last up to three hours.
Graham Johnson, a second baseman for Coppin State, knows how to manage his time. He is a captain for the Coppin baseball team, a strong student with a grade-point aveage near 3.8 and a member of the national chapter of the Student Athlete Advisory Counsel.
Johnson, a math major, also keeps a weekly online journal that is updated every Friday at www.coppin.edu/athletics. Johnson?s teammate, Tyler Love, is a true freshman who has his own bat and T-shirt company,
“Our coach will schedule all of our classes in the morning. It is really (all about) time management,” said Johnson, who is from British Columbia, Canada. “After the game you have dinner, and you have to buckle down for three hours” by studying. Johnson said the Coppin library closes at 2 a.m., and he has been known to help shut it down.
Johnson took 19 credit hours during most of his four seasons at Coppin. He is taking just four credits this semester, since that is all he needs to graduate in May.
Steve Russo is a sophomore third baseman/first baseman for Maryland-Baltimore County. He has a grade-point average of 3.3, and he hit .311 with 20 RBIs last season as a freshman.
Russo is taking 16 credit hours this semester, which lasts from late January to the middle of May. His baseball season lasts from the end of February to the end of May.
“I think the biggest thing is organization.I keep a calendar, and write down all of my assignments, and when they are due,” he said. “If you get behind, it is almost impossible to catch up. You really have to keep ahead of things.”
Russo, a biology major, notes that most Division I basketball teams use air travel for away games. That is not normally the case in college baseball. UMBC drove to play last season at the University of Maine.
Johnson, at Coppin State, will not be going pro in baseball, so maybe he can be featured by the NCAA during March Madness in 2007. He plans to pursue a master?s degree, and maybe a doctorate, in math at either Central Michigan or the University of British Columbia. “Where I am from in British Columbia, it is pretty white. It turned out to be an amazing experience,” Johnson, who is white, said of his four years at historically-black Coppin State. “It was a culture shock (at first). It is something I am glad I experienced.”
David Driver is the sports editor of the Baltimore Examiner.
