Oct. 15, 2008
The following story will appear in the upcoming edition of KnightVision which is produced 10 times per year by ISP Sports and UCF Athletics. To order a subscription to the publication, call 1-888-877-4373 (ext. 121). KnightVision is also available at several locations on the UCF campus, including the Student Union.
The past few years, UCF fans have seen a period of unrivaled success in school history from their beloved football team. Since 2005, the Knights have twice hosted the Conference USA Championship Game, winning it last year. The Knights have advanced to the first two bowl games in school history and no school won more C-USA games from 2005-07 than UCF.
But that's all in the public eye. Something behind the scenes is every bit as impressive. Most fans have not seen the Knights excel in an area where the results have been every bit as exceptional and perhaps even better. Not only are the Knights C-USA champions on the field, but they have set the league-wide standard in the classroom as well.
"I am very proud of the progress our football team has made in the classroom," head coach George O'Leary said. "Being a student-athlete at a great school like UCF is not just about what happens on the field. This program wants to prepare its student-athletes to succeed in life after UCF, whatever road they choose.
"When I recruit players I only make one promise to them and their parents. I never promise that they will start. I never promise playing time. The only thing that I promise is that they will graduate. I will see to that."
Some coaches are full of bluster when they say such things. O'Leary continuously backs it up like few others.
A total of 39 members of the UCF football program received Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll recognition this past spring, topping all league schools. UCF's combined cumulative grade point average is currently a 2.969. That may be down a bit from its peak of 3.035 after the 2007 summer session, but it is still vastly improved from the 2.018 the team held immediately prior to O'Leary's arrival.
This year UCF football began participating in the "Scholar-Baller" program, awarding special helmet decals for either maintaining a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0, reaching that plateau for the last semester, or by earning an undergraduate degree regardless of GPA. Remarkably, that classification includes 66 Knights.
UCF saw 30 of its football players graduate in the past year, including four of its current student-athletes who are pursuing master's or second undergraduate degrees while playing for the Knights in 2008. A year ago, Keith Shologan was named to the prestigious CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team.
Hundreds of student-athletes have walked through the doors of the Wayne Densch Sports Center since O'Leary took over as UCF's head coach. A handful of them have gone on to successful careers in professional football. The overwhelming majority, like the ubiquitous NCAA commercials remind us every March, have gone pro in something other than sports and done quite well at it.
"Coach O'Leary is very hands-on with academics more so than in other programs," says Kristy Belden, Associate Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes and the football team's primary academic counselor. "Some head coaches may designate an operations director or an assistant coach to handle academic matters. Here, it's coach O'Leary. He wants to know everything before the assistant coaches even know. He is very involved. He wants to know even when the kids are just late for class. He handles it all directly by himself. He wants to know exactly what is going on in the classroom.
"Coach puts a huge emphasis on academics. From the day he starts recruiting someone, to the day they sign to the day they graduate, he only makes one promise to them. This is that they will graduate. That's the only promise that he makes. From day one the kids and parents know what his emphasis is on and how he will put all of his energy into getting that goal achieved."
And, in regards to those lucky few who do go pro "in sports," every one of O'Leary's NFL draft picks from UCF, with just one exception, have earned their degrees as well.
"You always hear about people thinking about the dumb jock but it is definitely not true here," says senior left tackle Pat Brown, someone who hopes to be playing in the NFL next fall, but is well equipped to be successful in life if that doesn't pan out. "School is always coach O'Leary's number one priority: academics first, football second. It is definitely a main emphasis of his."
"That is a big key because the main thing we are here for is our education," sophomore linebacker Lawrence Young said. "That is our key goal... to graduate."
One truly exemplary example of a UCF football student-athlete is Sha'reff Rashad who is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The honor goes to a Football Bowl Subdivision senior who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence.
While most may just know that Rashad is an All-C-USA safety who ranks third in school history with 10 career interceptions, few might be aware of how remarkable his accomplishments are in the award's other three fields.
In the classroom, he received his undergraduate degree in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology, this past spring with a 3.428 grade point average. He is presently working towards a master's degree in criminal justice. The UCF Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2007, Rashad has twice been named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team. He has twice been named to the league football all-academic team and is a two-time first-team honoree on the Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars Team.
He is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Thurgood Marshall Achievers Society. Rashad is a four-time member of the UCF Dean's List (3.4-or-better GPA) and an eight-time UCF Athletics Director's Honor Roll honoree (3.0-or-better GPA). He also has a President's Honor Roll Certificate for having a 4.0 semester. Rashad was named to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's Hampshire Honor Society last fall.
Evidence of his strong moral and ethical character comes from his regular volunteering his time and assistance for community activities. He was a 2007 Order of Pegasus Finalist which is the highest honor a UCF student can receive. He was awarded the UCF Scholar Athlete Inspiration Award in 2007 and leads the UCF football bible study program. Proficient in Spanish as well as English, Rashad volunteers for summer camps at his alma mater, Episcopal High School in Jacksonville, and still finds time to work a part time job as a sales associate at an Oviedo sports store.
In the local community, Rashad has generously given his time to The Ronald McDonald House, the Orange County Public Schools Transition Program, Habitat For Humanity and the Florida Children's Hospital. Back home in Jacksonville, he has also volunteered at Salzbacher Homeless Shelter and Wolfson's Children's Hospital.
Rashad is perhaps the finest example on the team of both academic and athletic excellence, but he is far from the only Knight who can be held in such a shining light. He is, after all, merely one of the 30 Knights who graduated last year.
Belden and her dedicated staff do have a hand in it, but unbridled academic success like UCF's must to start at the top.
"We give him (O'Leary) daily attendance checks," she says. "He gets a report every day of who misses a class, if they were late or even if they were sleeping in class. It is on his desk before practice every morning so that it can be addressed immediately if needs be. He gets a written report every two weeks on how they are doing in their classes and the parents get one three times a semester too so that they know exactly what's going on.
"He is in study hall every day. He will always come in, at least once daily, and see what's happening. He wants an update daily on what the hot academic issues are with the team. He asks the group constantly about their tests and papers that were due that week and how they did on them. He is always asking for academic updates."
And, thanks to his passion, diligence and dedication to seeing his student-athletes succeed in the class room, those reports and updates that O'Leary receives are invariably positive ones.