Unusable data hinders all athletic programs at Southern

At Southern University the still stirring question is rather all sports are banned from postseason play?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes.
Southern is still ineligible for postseason play due to unusable data dated back to 2009. The data included the academic progress rates that the National College Athletic Association assesses so that schools can be eligible to procure championships or play in important bowl games.
The NCAA was into academic reform because it encouraged student athletes to stay in school and graduate with good standing. One of the members on the Committee of Academic Performance Chair Walter Harrison discusses what the program does to benefit or penalizes programs.
“We established a program that awards or penalizes students based on academic performance alone, therefore it may increase grade-point averages and increase graduation rates,” said Harrison.
In order to even compete in the 2014-2015 postseason, teams must achieve either a 930 multi-year APR or a 940 average over the most recent two years.
In Southern’s case, they did not have the necessary data in approval of the NCAA’s standards.
Besides Southern, five other schools in the Southwestern Athletic Conference are sanctioned which are: Alabama A&M (men’s golf), Alabama State (men’s basketball and football), Mississippi Valley State (baseball and football), Prairie View A&M (football), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (football).
The NCAA continues to work closely with the limited resources schools as well as the Historically Black Colleges or Universities as they continue to improve the academic resources of their student athletes.
The Athletic Director for Southern University, Dr. William Broussard, and his staff are currently working to overturn the decision yielded by the NCAA.
But Broussard could not be reached for comments.
According to TSPN sports, Texas Southern President, Dr. John Rudley fired back at the NCAA for not doing their duty to close the gap between so-called low resource HBCUs and well-funded large universities that would aid in increased academic achievement.
“The large, well funded universities have hired large compliance staffs who literally escort athletes to class each day to meet the increased requirements. Our smallest institutions (HBCUs) are severely handicapped without budgets to hire personnel for compliance and academic support. These increased regulations make it impossible for small schools with specialized needs to compete,” said Rudley.
Rudley continued to be disgruntled on the issue the NCAA has placed on HBCUs and limited resource schools.
“This is a case of one size cannot fit all, and the NCAA needs to continue to look for ways to ensure the needs of its members and our student athletes can be met,” said Rudley.
To change face, Southern’s head coach of volleyball, Vanessa Jacobs, wants to change the culture during the difficult times.
“I have to be a realist. The current situation that lies before us will come as it may regardless whether we want it or not. It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves on the field and also take care of our business in the classroom,” said Jacobs, “Because when we are getting great grades and gathering wins, we make the opportunity to create a brighter future for ourselves so we may never encounter this problem again.”
Southern University athletic department still wait for further updates.