Big 12 Coaches Stressing Importance of the Classroom This Spring

After years of pressure from academics and university presidents, the NCAA began to increase penalties for failing to meet academic standards with the Academic Progress Rate (APR). The fallout from such standards, just might be trickling down to coaches, especially in the Big 12.

At Nebraska, first year head coach Bo Pelini is stressing the importance of class attendance.

"It's a big deal now," said Nebraska senior linebacker Tyler Wortman. "We have people checking on everybody, making sure you're in class."

It's common to see members of Nebraska's academic support staff -- and sometimes even Pelini himself -- making the rounds on campus to make sure players are in class.

Academics have always been important at Nebraska, which boasts a nation-leading total of 255 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans. Pelini, however, appears to be ramping up the accountability for student-athletes. And it's hard to argue with Pelini's bottom-line:

"It's not up for debate," Pelini said. "If you don't want to go to class, turn pro."

Meanwhile at Kansas State, Ron Prince is scheduling practices around his players' class schedules, which means the workouts kickoff at 8:20 p.m.

"Nowadays, most of them don't go to bed until midnight anyway," Prince said. "We just figured this would be the best way to let them keep their schoolwork up while they were practicing. I'm as confirmed as anybody that they are in school to get their degrees."

The change in schedules has been an adjustment for the players, but they seem to understand Prince's reasoning.

"I don't particularly like this, but it's being done for the betterment of the team," Freeman said. "We're working out at night, which is a time you might normally want to relax after school and practice. But it's kind of a blessing. We don't have anything going on during the afternoon, so I either kick back or do my papers then."

Both coaches should be applauded for their efforts at increasing the emphasis their players place on academics. While the spring semester is often a time that football players use to catch up in the classroom after grueling fall semesters, the added push from their coaches can only help.