Texas Southern University President Dr. John Rudley says smaller schools "are severely handicapped" by limited resources and need help from the NCAA.
In an release on Wednesday, six Southwestern Athletic Conference schools (SWAC) are in state to face postseason bans from the latest Academic Progress rates. This includes half of the league's football programs. Pending a review, is the question about all of the southern schools APR data.
Rudley, the chairman of the SWAC Council of Presidents and Chancellors, said historically black colleges and universities have graduation rates of 36 percent for all students.
He also said the bar of 50 percent graduation rate for athletes "is set so high that most HBCU's and other limited resource institutions cannot meet that standard."
"The large, well-funded universities have hired large compliance staffs who literally escort athletes to class each day to meet the increased requirements," Rudley said in a release from the league. "Our smaller institutions are severely handicapped without budgets to hire personnel for compliance and academic support. These increased regulations make it almost impossible for small school with specialized missions to complete."
Eight of the 17 football and men's basketball teams banned from the 2014-15 postseason are from historically black schools. Alabama State and Florida A&M, are on the list in both sports.
The NCAA has awarded approximately $4.3 million over the last three years to school ranking in the bottom 15 percent in funding. The money is to be used for extra tutoring or other academic resources for student-athletes.
"We are proud of what our Historically Black Colleges and Universities have achieve over the years, before, and after segregation, with respect to transforming the lives of people of color and providing access to a college degree for underserved students when other have not had such a mission," Rudley said. "This is a case of one size cannot fit all, and the NCAA needs to continue to look for ways to ensure that the needs of all it member universities and our student-athletes can be met."
SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp said the league can "applaud the improvements by our member institutions and the standards they have implemented to solve the academic concerns."
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