By Jesse Welte

There are many challenges that athletes face. They must perform in the classroom and in their sport. Some find it difficult to balance the two. Athletes must use careful planning when planning their schedules, having adequate time to practice, and to study.

Football players can be very susceptible to stereotyping when it comes to academics. Hollywood portrays many of them to be big, dumb guys, who prefer to hit each other on the field then to hit their books.

Sophomore Eric Wood breaks that stereotype. As a political science major, Wood owns a 3.5 GPA while also starting maintaining his position as a starting offensive lineman, at center. The native of Cincinnati has found the best way to schedule his day around practice and academics, keeping a fine balance.

Wood’s day normally starts at 7:30am when he gets up and eats a big breakfast, which he deems essential to starting the day off right. From there he is off to his morning classes, followed by studying and getting lunch before he goes to work out in the afternoon.

After his workout, he has free time to do whatever he pleases but if he has a heavy load of schoolwork, he spends it studying, if not he’ll do something that is fun and relaxing. Wood then goes to bed at 11pm in order to get the eight hours of sleep he requires to have a good day.

“I usually study for about 10 hours a week on average, whether it is more or less depends on whether or not I have tests or I just need to prepare for class,” said Wood of his study habits.

But Eric Wood isn’t the only athlete that maintains good grades and athletics.

Recently, the Big East released lists of those athletes who were honored for their academic performance in football and field hockey. The football team had 12 players named to Big East All-Academic Team. The requirements for this team include having a grade point average of 3.0 or above and completion of two or more consecutive semesters of academic work.

The field hockey team has had the best GPA among all teams at the University of Louisville for the past three semesters. They also had the highest GPA of all teams in the country last fall.

Senior stand-out field hockey player, Jessica Javelet was named the 2006-07 BIG EAST Aeropostale Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to holding the school record, in goals, assists, and points in both a career and a single season, she has managed to pursue a major in marketing with a perfect

4.0 GPA.

“This award is a huge honor. I have always taken immense pride in my academics and this award reflects my hard work in the classroom,” said Javelet. “So, very early on I had to find a way to balance the two extremes and I think that I have managed it very well.”

Just as any normal student seeks a tutor when he or she is struggling in their coursework, so too do the athletes take advantage of such tools. Where non-athletes have access to programs such as REACH and the Writing Center, student athletes have the Olga S. Peers Academic Center for Student Athletes

In order to assist the athletes, this academic center provides an atmosphere where players can go to obtain help from peer tutors and academic counselors, as well as use computers and printers. This center also helps the athletics department keep an eye on its athletes.

“I always use the academic resources provided by the university. The Olga Peers Academic center is top notch program that is always reading and willing to help out athletes,” said Javelet of the academic center.

Marvin Mitchell is in his seventh year as Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services. He provided some insight as to how the programs at UofL ensure that athletes are fulfilling their responsibilities as students as well.

“If they don’t go to class they don’t play. It’s that simple. Coaches have to make that a priority. We have graduate assistants who check in to see if the athletes are in class, as well as progress reports to check their attendance, performance, as well as behavior in the classroom.”

When asked about the possibility of athletes taking advantage of tutors to get a free pass on homework, Mitchell replied, “We train every tutor. They must report any inappropriate behavior by athletes after ever tutoring session. If they don’t report, they don’t get paid.”

Matt “Hooch” Brenner serves as one of these peer tutors. He is a senior majoring in chemical engineering. He spends about eight hours a week tutoring athletes in subjects such as math and history, as well as science classes.

“I’ve tutored both athletes and non-athletes. The athletes are easier to tutor because they are really focused because they don’t have a lot of time to study. They do well because they have to. They are also very disciplined.”

It is up to both the athletes and their academic counselors to maintain the standard of excellence that the University has in producing successful athletes who have the tools they need to become successful in the real world, if professional sports is not the road for them or if they plan to pursue goals after a career in sports.

“My future plans are to play in the NFL. Following career, I would either like to be a coach or possibly go to law school. I have been around sports my whole life so that is where I feel comfortable and is what I see myself being involved in one way or another,” said Wood of his goals.

The University of Louisville’s athletics program has become a force to be reckoned with in the Big East, holding several top 25 spots nationally in multiple sports, so now more than ever, the athletic department and students are working harder to give the program a high success rate on the field and off.