At least: Football has joined 16 other teams at ODU and exceeded a grade point average of 3.0

from Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Virginia – When asked about his proudest moments as an Old Dominion football coach earlier this season, Ricky Rahne said one of his biggest had nothing to do with blocking and tackling.

When he learned that the soccer team had a cumulative grade point average of 3.10 last spring.

That’s the highest GPA in the program’s history and unusually high for an FBS soccer team, said Ron Moses, executive associate athletic director for internal operations.

“You don’t see a lot of FBS soccer teams over 3.0,” he said.

And it wasn’t just the soccer team that cracked the books and studied hard. Last spring, ODU Athletics had the highest cumulative GPA of all time with 3.31. Women’s tennis led all teams with a 3.87, while swimming was the best men’s team with 3.53.

A total of 17 teams had a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

In addition, 186 athletes, a whopping 42 percent of all who compete at ODU, were on the deans list, meaning they had a GPA of 3.4 or higher. Forty-eight of these students, or 11 percent of ODU’s athletes, had a perfect grade point average of 4.0.

That’s impressive when you consider how much time and effort athletes put into their sport. I work at the sports facility, and even though it’s not baseball season, every afternoon you can hear the bat pop and see baseball players circling the weight room.

It’s not a tennis or golf season, but the men’s and women’s teams at ODU play hard at tournaments. It is exhausting to play in college and thrive academically, and it is remarkable how many athletes manage to do just that.

The 186 athletes on Dean’s List, a record number for ODU, will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s soccer game against Louisiana Tech. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

The athletes at ODU excelled in a difficult time. Because of the pandemic, all autumn sports teams except football competed in the spring.

Each team did this in a so-called “bubble” in which they agreed that they would not meet with anyone other than their teammates except for class.

The soccer team practiced and had the spring game and the players spent their time off the field in a bubble.

“It was a very busy time for all of our coaches and student athletes,” said Sporting Director Wood Selig. “Your dedication and sacrifice have been remarkable.

“All of our coaches and Ron Moses and his entire team deserve a lot of credit.”

Moses leads the Department of Academic Services, Student and Athlete Development, and Diversity and Inclusion.

Amy Lynch Collaboration with basketball player Kalu Ezipke

At least one person is designated to work with students in all sports, and special efforts have been made to improve the grade point average of the soccer team, which had lagged behind most other sports teams by the time Rahne was appointed coach.

“A lot of it is the culture and the expectations,” Moses said of college football teams, which often do poorly academically when compared to other sports.

Football players are more likely to come from more difficult socio-economic circumstances than athletes in many other teams.

“For a lot of soccer players, the expectation of just being eligible to play is that you do what you have to do and go out and play. We wanted to raise that expectation to 3.0,” said Moses.

To create that expectation, it wasn’t just about keeping a study hall or teaching students. Morgan Sumner, Sarah Walker and Rachel Nelson hold what they call a
Summer Bridge program where they work with the players on everything from email etiquette to finding courses to fit their training schedule.

“We talk a lot about time management skills and academic perseverance,” said Moses. “We get enough support so that we don’t have it in our hands, but we are here to take care of it.”

ODU also brought in former players Messiah deWeaver (Player development) and Tyler Fisher (Academic intern) serve as role models. Both graduated from ODU on time and deWeaver earned his MBA.

ODU, in partnership with the National Football League Players Association, zoomed in on half a dozen NFL players, including Washington Football Team defensive lineman TY McGill, who was returning to North Carolina to graduate during the game to make in the NFL.

“Our academic staff is amazing and the reason they are so good is because they care so much about our children,” said Rahne. “They are not just here to help them in class, but to help them see the bigger picture of how all of this leads to them being successful in life.

“You give them a structured environment that also has some freedom of choice about what they will encounter as adults in the workforce. They will have obligations, but also choices. You are to give them life lessons that will really come to them in the future will help.

“I told our boys that a great GPA in high school or college doesn’t close doors. It just opens doors. They don’t turn people down for jobs because they’re too smart.

“We want to make sure that as many doors as possible are kept open in our lives.”

ODU Academic Support Team:

Erin’s cousins, Director of Support Services for the Education of Schoolchildren and Athletes

Kristin Eden, Director of Academic Service for Students and Athletes; works with volleyball, men’s and women’s swimming and women’s basketball.

Sarah Walker, Assistant Director of the Student Athletic Academic Service working in soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse.

Tay Hawker, Academic Sports Advisor / Student Athlete Development; International Relations Coordinator / Specialist who works with sailing for men and women and
Men’s and women’s football.

Amy Lynch, Academic athletics consultant who works in baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s basketball, and also focuses on charitable projects

Morgan Sumner, Academic advisor in athletics who works with soccer, men’s and women’s golf, and rowing

Rachel Nelson, Athletics Academic Advisor who works with soccer and the cheer and dance teams

Precious rose, Research assistant / digital projects and social media manager

Messiah deWeaver, Player Development / Academic Assistant

Aliyah Newman, research assistant for student athlete welfare

Alexi Manley, Academic service / internship in mental health

Tyler Fisher, Intern in football academics

Brianna Sowatskey, Academic / Student-Athlete Development Intern