Stay Humble, Hustle Hard: Student-Athlete or Athlete-Student?

At the beginning of each new academic year, Nicholls State University president Dr. Bruce Murphy
meets with the student-athlete population of the school in Peltier auditorium. While he typically
discusses new rules, athletic department changes and accomplishments among the sports teams, he
never fails to repeat his favorite line to us every time: “The student-athlete is twice the student.”
When I was a freshman at Nicholls, I was not completely sure what this vague statement meant after
hearing it for the first time. Now that I am approaching my final semester as a Colonel in the classroom
and on the soccer field, I have witnessed and experienced the truth behind Dr. Murphy’s statement that
the student-athlete really is twice the student.

When an athlete commits to playing a college sport, they understand their workouts and practices will
be strictly regimented and that they will be required to pass fitness tests and perform their sport at a
high level day in and day out. Similarly, when a student decides to further their education and pursue a
college degree, they know they will be thrown into a world of academics that will challenge them more
than any classroom has ever challenged them before; from the coursework to the exams and all the
assignments in-between.

While I thought I understood both halves to this equation before enrolling at Nicholls, nothing could
have prepared me for the life I live as a student-athlete until I was thrown right into it.
What I have learned about balancing the demands of succeeding as a college student while being a
college athlete is that the only way to stay on track and to avoid getting behind is to get ahead. To
ensure I stay on top of my academics, I make my weekly planner my lifeline. Of course I pencil in all of
my soccer games at the beginning of the season, but before the academic semester even begins, I also
write down every single due date for each of my classes. This includes homework, reading, quizzes and
exams. Although this is an exhausting chore at the start of each semester, combining my soccer, school,
and work schedules into one planner has made all the difference for me.

While a weekly planner keeps me focused day-to- day, I must also be able to look ahead to the upcoming
semester. While athletes experience different types of training, whether they are in or out of season, all
student-athletes must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours to remain eligible for their sport; no
matter the season.

Thanks to a network comprised of athletes, coaches, academic advisors and athletic directors working in
sync, the academic success of each and every student athlete at Nicholls is always in consideration and
monitored closely.

It is no surprise that athletes put in hours of work practicing, playing and traveling for their sports. What
many people underestimate though, is just how many hours still go towards their academics on top of
the practicing, playing and traveling. As part of a new policy within the athletics department at Nicholls,
all first-year students as well as students with a GPA below a 3.0 must record weekly study hall hours.
While the NCAA has always regulated athletes’ hours towards their sport, Nicholls is now regulating and
requiring students’ hours towards academics as well.

I’ve carried my heavy schoolbag on many road trips knowing that I would have to read books on the
bumpy bus, make flashcards between walk-throughs and games, and type papers in hotel lobbies early
in the morning and late at night after my teammates have gone to sleep. What makes it all worth it
though, is not just the personal triumphs of passing exams and earning class credits. By emphasizing the
“student” in student-athlete, Nicholls athletics has received recognition both conference-wide and
nation-wide for the academic success of its teams and individuals.

In recent years, I’ve seen my teammates receive First Team Southland All-Academic honors and I’ve
been part of a team recognized by the National Soccer Coaches of America for our collective GPA in the
2015-16 school year. As an athlete, I always thought I’d leave my footprint through the sport that I play.
Being a student-athlete at Nicholls has showed me that with hard work, I can leave an even more
impressionable mark on the student side.

While president Murphy says the student athlete is twice the student, NCAA president Mark Emmert
believes a better term for student athlete is simply “student” (Forbes). At the end of the day, that’s what
we all are, and that is what every individual enrolled at Nicholls has in common. While my life as a
college athlete pulls me in many directions and makes me unique, it has always demanded that I be a
successful student.