Congratulations. You’ve just signed your National Letter of Intent to play Division I athletics. You feel proud, accomplished, thankful and relieved. A portion, if not all, of your college education is now paid for, and in these tough times, that’s all you can ask for. You’ve got a free ride … but is it really free when it’s 5:30 a.m. and you’re lined up on the baseline?

Many have this perception of student-athletes: free rides, easy breaks with school and academic leniency. While some major Division I programs might be run that like, we are Binghamton University, and we all don’t have track records like Tiki Mayben. Kyle Kucharski of the soccer team didn’t graduate from a no-good high school and Michelle McDonough of the volleyball team doesn’t go home and sell cocaine to support her family.

The Binghamton University athletic department has standards for their student-athletes. Each team has certain academic criteria, each athlete has to log in extra hours in the gym or on the field and every athlete must abide by the University’s and NCAA’s drug and alcohol standards. With all of that, it usually adds up to a “9 to 5” job with overtime hours. So while athletes have the free education, normal students have the free time.

College is about freedom, academics and social events. It seems like Division I athletics rip all of that newfound freedom from you when coaches receive your schedule. First off, academics. Each team holds certain academic criteria that each athlete has to meet. For most teams, if an athlete doesn’t get a 3.0 grade point average for that semester, then the result is study hall. Sounds like high school, right? Every .2 below a 3.0 usually reflects two hours of study hall. To a normal student, falling below a 3.0 takes effort; however, academics can easily be put second when there are practices, games, trips and good nights of sleep to think about.

The men’s lacrosse team here at BU must maintain a 3.5 GPA to stay out of study hall. Since most athletes are students in SOM, that’s a pretty tough task.

College is also about making mistakes and learning how to fix them without parents down your back. Explaining to your coach your failure to pass with flying colors halfway through the semester isn’t the easiest thing to do. This is called the progress report. Yep, a direct letter from your professor straight to your coach’s desk. Athletes deserve the ability to keep athletics and academics in two separate worlds; however, sadly, this isn’t an option at the D-I level.

So many criticize the academic leniency that athletes are given, but the actual hours put into schoolwork, on top of the athletic demands, can be incredibly exhausting. Yeah, some athletes’ educations are paid for, but these athletes also have standards and consequences to consider, all while college is supposed to be about escaping and expanding from those rules. It’s almost fair to say that instead of money, athletes pay their time and energy to the athletic department while the athletic department pays the tuition.