It’s finals week! Most colleges are taking its first semester final exams all of this week or last, which means most college hoops teams have the week off game wise. However, some teams continue to practice at the same high level as they would on any other week.
Every ACC team has at least a week without games, either coming this week, last week, or the week before. This gives the student athletes a chance to focus on their studies, rather than using all their energy during games and being mentally drained during the day. However, due to the fact that many of these teams treat the week as a normal week of practice, the players do not get the break they need to have in order to do well on exams.
The ACC is a high academic conference. Duke, UNC, Virginia, Notre Dame, and Boston College all rank in the top 30 nationally in terms of prestigious academics. The rest of the league is highly regarded as well, with some of the lower end programs on the rise. If the ACC wants to keep its reputation of being a top conference on and off the floor, it needs to set regulations on how much a team can practice during exams.
First and foremost, the conference should install limits in order to help the student athletes. Not all of the players will make a career out of basketball, and some have the opportunity to attend a college they may not have gotten into without basketball. Good grades and able minds during class will result in success off the court when the student athletes eventually put down the basketball and hang up their sneakers, which gives the ACC a good reputation.
Exam breaks could also help the ACC in regards to basketball. In many cases, students take a red shirt year in order to become acclimated to their new environment. As a result, they are still eligible to play in the NCAA after graduation. However, due to the high demand of their schools graduate program, many are forced to transfer because they cannot go to school at their university any longer.
With exam breaks, students can boost their grades, and even a slight increase would boost their chances of being accepted into the masters program, keeping players in the conference.
Exams are exhausting. For college athletes, it’s even more difficult. If the ACC wants to better the well being of itself and its players, practices and games should be regulated during finals week. Doing so would improve the conferences reputation and better the lives of the players who play within it.
Image credits: K-State Collegian