2008 SEC Academic Honor Roll

quote:

Originally posted by KCBaseball:
Challenging fields of study on top of their baseball accomplishment this past year!

I don't mean to diminish these young mans accomplishments, but these are challenging majors compared to what? They seem pretty run of the mill to me.

Wow,
My son made the ACC honor roll (presidents as well) quite a few times and he took a similar run of the mill (what you consider) major. We were VERY proud of him.

He also played in one of the toughest baseball conferences in the country, with a very tough SOS and RPI, played for a very demanding program maintained an above 3.0 every semester but one and managed to get drafted along the way (not such an easy task).

So am I to take the above comments as an insult,not just for him but all players that can manage both at the same time and get academic honors as well? Going to college and playing baseball is no easy accomplishment no matter what field of study you are involved in.

I would guess except for those that sit on a high hill overlooking everyone and eveything those courses are run of the mill

CPLZ,

These young men have to balance incredible academic requirements with demanding baseball/travel schedules. Your insensitivity is either from a perspective of ignorance of what it takes to play D-1 baseball and achieve in the classroom or your are actually trying to diminish these great young men and their accomplishments. As the father of a student-athlete who has made the ACC academic honor role while playing baseball, I find your statement offensive.

Mike Murray

Any degree while participating in D1 baseball is a TREMENDOUS challenge. To maintain the requirements found in the link (3.0 GPA) and to also achieve what Georgia did last year, deserves a big HOORAY!

While all college degrees are worthwhile, I felt the Georgia boys on this list had more challenging majors. The catch-all major these days seems to be Kinesiology, the study of movement. Known by athletes to be a bit easier than biology, business, economics or finance. You still have to go to class and do the work, but not the same difficulty level.

Kudos to these boys for their achievements!

I was looking for any major that topped what a friend majored in while playing hockey at a Hockey East program. He majored in Health, Recreation and Leisure. With a quick scroll of the list the best I could find was a major in Wildlife.

I majored in Economics in college. I minored in Wildlife. That's where I joined a frat, had a six pack in one arm and a young woman in the other.

.
WOW! ... Steppin' on some toes here guys...

Since when do we have the power/right to downgrade solid academics? Since when do we decide what degrees are petty and which are "worthy"? Where does it say that we have exclusive insight into what degree is Valuable and which is worthless for student athletes? And what message are we sending to the kids/parents on the way up? Pretty amazing how we ballyhoo academics in one thread and rip it apart in another...

While they are not academy kids(the ultimate student academics) I'll bet some of those sons/families have worked awfully hard to place emphasis on academcis in a venue where they are not always valued...and some of those players/parents are pretty proud of these trashy/cheap/worthless majors that are earning them Top student athlete awards at their schools, conference kudo's, entrance into exclusive national honor societies, academic $, and are maybe putting them in line for Graduate degrees and professional schools.

How about some soemthing constructive, maybe some suggestions as to the best ways to break the news to them that those efforts are pointless? Maybe we'll wait until after medical or Law school...

Fact is, guys, that people come in all academic sizes and shapes, the same way athletes do, and I can easily equate this to saying that any ballplayer who does not make the hall of fame is a failure...

These are good kids who have obvioulsy worked very hard for a long time...give them at least an iota of respect.

44

quote:

While all college degrees are worthwhile, I felt the Georgia boys on this list had more challenging majors. The catch-all major these days seems to be Kinesiology, the study of movement. Known by athletes to be a bit easier than biology, business, economics or finance. You still have to go to class and do the work, but not the same difficulty level.

Not necessarily so KC. If you look at the pre reqs for Kinesiology at many programs, you'll find the same kind of 'weed out' classes as needed for many health science majors, including physics, A&P, Bio, Chem., and Trig. I think you'll find that the ease of athletes adapting to the study of human movement is a myth.

I've never heard O'44 so riled up! And, as usual, he's right in my opinion. I also agree with spizzlepop. Ever taken an anatomy or physiology class? We were excited in anatomy that we had a human cadaver to dissect to learn the muscle groups. You also have to get through several calculus classes for many of these majors.

I bet most of us parents would have a difficult time helping our college students with their homework. Regardless of major I think most college majors are fairly difficult, especially in addition to playing a sport.

Personally, I am proud of my son playing college baseball, majoring in business,minoring in math, and having a great time doing it. All these kids deserve kudos.

quote:

Originally posted by KCBaseball:
Challenging fields of study...

Is it then that all fields of study are challenging, or are some fields more mainstream, some less challenging and some more challenging?

I truly am sorry that anyone took offense, I again acknowledge quite openly that these are terrific accomplishments that I have no intention of diminishng.

All these majors are terrific. My son majors is management, not what I would consider a particularly challenging major. But I state that in relation to the other majors available...nuclear engineering, pre-med, bio-medical engineering, Systems Engineering (which is sons minor), etc.

When someone states that the field is "challenging", that must be taken as a relationship to all other fields. I simply did not see that distinction in the majority of majors listed. They seemed like very honorable and worthy majors, yet not in some upper tier of complex majors, as the word, "challenging" would imply.

Again, sorry for any ruffled feathers...

while i agree any class taken as a college athlete is an achievment. the challenging part is individual. freshman year of high school was the most challenging 3 years of my life.

with the classes needed to be a d1 qualifier out of high school, in my opinion. some of these majors would, to me be a disappointment. they are student athlete's, the emphasis is sometimes on athlete?

major in real estate, housing ? i for one wouldn't be happy paying four years at an sec school, for either one. on the other hand if they are on scholarship.......

in new england they used to have a program for all the state schools. if you took a major not offered in your state ,you paid instate tuition at the out of state school. uri offered textile marketing to it's athletes. (try finding a textile mill today.) not offered at any other NE school. this was by design to help the cost as uri wasn't close to being fully funded. it is what it is.

i'm sure their parents are just as proud as any other. my son went to a jc, it was a challenge for him. and i'm proud of his accompishment's there, be what they may.

we all have to do something in life,how you do it is up to you.

20dad,
Whether one majors in real estate or medicine, being a student athlete is not an easy task.

While there have been many discussions on the subject, it is a well know fact that baseball players tend to take easier courses because of baseball schedule demands.

I think that in this case comments made were inappropriate because the scholars are being identified.

Gordon Beckham recieved a HUGE signing bonus, might well be he may use that money and his knowledge for investing all of his money. Regardless of what you all think he's got enough money that he doesn't have to worry that what he majored in wasn't all that challenging.

He might even end up with a career playing baseball.

tpm

i agree,the names were not needed. they never are when used in a negative way. though the jury's still out on the intended use here.

.

Mornin' 20dad!

It does appear that the problem with any comment on the relative difficulty of the majors listed only becomes an issue because the names of the students were listed along with their intended majors. No one questions the difficulty of being a student athlete in college, regardless of the major... however, some majors are definitely more challenging than others. No one can dispute that. Anyone ever had a player asked by a coach if he would consider changing his major? I know we have.

I did not read CP's comment as an intended dig on the athletes, but rather a "let's define challenging" question. KC is the one who highlighted the "challenging fields of study". CP just said what I'm sure others were thinking.

quote:

Anyone ever had a player asked by a coach if he would consider changing his major? I know we have.

I was pushed for two years to change my major. After two years of a 3.5 gpa the coaches understood what I was telling them from the beginning. Economics is math. Math is easy for me. As far as electives went I knew a gut course when I saw one and took it. I have friends who went to college with the intention of becoming engineers. Every one of them were steered to other majors.

I'll guess Beckham's degree is from the School of Management. It's probably a finance degree with a real estate concentration. If he was in the school of management, before selecting his degree/concentration he had to take multiple courses in accounting, operations management, personnel management and finance and marketing.

quote:

Originally posted by 20dad:
while i agree any class taken as a college athlete is an achievment. the challenging part is individual. freshman year of high school was the most challenging 3 years of my life.

i'm sure their parents are just as proud as any other. my son went to a jc, it was a challenge for him. and i'm proud of his accompishment's there, be what they may.

we all have to do something in life,how you do it is up to you.

Agree dad! My son's one year at a JUCO he was a Dean's List kid and contributed greatly to a team GPA that won the National Academic Team of the Year from the NJCAA. Do you think I was any less proud than a kid at an ivy school with the same accomplishment. Not one bit.... I was as a proud as a peacock!! Downplaying anyone's accomplishment is a petty thing to do IMO. All these kids work hard and I salute every one of them!!

KCBaseball,

I too think these baseball " student " athletes deserve recognition!

Criteria:

quote:

Each student-athlete must 1) have a GPA of 3.00 for either the preceding academic year or have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution; 2) be on scholarship, a letter winner or have participated on a varsity team for two years if non-scholarship; 3) have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial credit at the nominating institution; and 4) have been a member of the varsity team for the sport's entire NCAA Championship segment.

Here is the remaining " baseball " list from secsports.com

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Brock Bennett Baseball Sophomore Management
John B. Clark Baseball Senior Biology
Vincent DiFazio Baseball Junior Communications Studies
Del Howell Baseball Sophomore Marketing
Brandon May Baseball Sophomore Management
Tyler Odle Baseball Junior Management
Robert Phares Baseball Junior Engineering
Will Stroup Baseball Senior Management Information Systems
Jeff Texada Baseball Junior General Human Environmental Sciences

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
Mike Bolsinger Baseball Sophomore Sociology
Casey Coon Baseball Junior Sociology
Andrew Darr Baseball Junior Criminal Justice
Thomas Hauskey Baseball Sophomore Accounting/Financial Mngt.
Travis Hill Baseball Senior Sociology
Scott Limbocker Baseball Sophomore Political Science
Scott Lyons Baseball Junior Sociology
Sam Murphy Baseball Sophomore Communication
Chad Pierce Baseball Sophomore Middle Level Education
Shaun Seibert Baseball Junior Kinesiology
Tim Smalling Baseball Sophomore Kinesiology
Cliff Springston Baseball Junior Sociology
Ben Tschepikow Baseball Junior Kinesiology

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Paul Burnside Baseball Junior Marketing
Evan Crawford Baseball Junior Adult Education
Jamie Drinkard Baseball Junior Building Science
Michael Hurst Baseball Junior Marketing
Benjamin Jones Baseball Junior Mechanical Engineering


UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Bryson Barber Baseball Senior Event Management
Avery Barnes Baseball Junior Criminology
Brett Bentley Baseball Senior Exercise Physiology
Billy Bullock Baseball Sophomore Sport Management
Kevin Chapman Baseball Sophomore Sport Management
Tony Davis Baseball Sophomore Event Management
Matt den Dekker Baseball Sophomore History
Josh Edmondson Baseball Senior Food and Resource Economics
Cole Figueroa Baseball Sophomore Sport Management
Teddy Foster Baseball Senior History
Jake Hicks Baseball Sophomore Fitness/Wellness
Patrick Keating Baseball Junior History
Brandon McArthur Baseball Senior Criminology
Jonathan Pigott Baseball Sophomore Event Management
Clayton Pisani Baseball Junior Sport Management
Hampton Tignor Baseball Sophomore Finance
Jon Townsend Baseball Senior Public Relations

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
Andrew Albers Baseball Senior Kinesiology
Brock Baber Baseball Senior Kinesiology
Kevin Bishop Baseball Sophomore Pre-Management
Sawyer Carroll Baseball Senior Agricultural Economic / Agribusiness Management & Food Marketing
Collin Cowgill Baseball Senior Communication
Greg Dombrowski Baseball Senior Kinesiology
Tyler Howe Baseball Senior Community Communications & Leadership Development
Jonathan Huff Baseball Senior Civil Engineering
Chris McClendon Baseball Junior Community Communications & Leadership Development
Marcus Nidiffer Baseball Junior Finance
James Paxton Baseball Sophomore Pre-Marketing
Brian Spear Baseball Senior Marketing
Brian Suerdick Baseball Sophomore Family Science
Clint Tilford Baseball Sophomore Human Nutrition
Thomas Warner Baseball Senior Mechanical Engineering
Gregory Wright Baseball Junior Finance
Jesse Yano Baseball Junior Community Communications & Leadership Development

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Kyle Beerbohm Baseball Senior Kinesiology
Paul Bertuccini Baseball Junior Management
Jared Bradford Baseball Senior General Studies
Ryan Byrd Baseball Senior General Studies
Matthew Clark Baseball Junior General Studies
Kevin Farnsworth Baseball Junior Biological Sciences
Matthew Gaudet Baseball Junior General Studies
Martin Haydel Baseball Junior General Studies
Michael Hollander Baseball Senior Communication Studies
Jason Lewis Baseball Senior General Studies
Blake Martin Baseball Senior General Studies
Nicholas Pontiff Baseball Senior Management
Ryan Schimpf Baseball Sophomore Undeclared
Ryan Verdugo Baseball Junior General Studies

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
Nathan Baker Baseball Sophomore Liberal Arts Undecided
Scott Bittle Baseball Senior Psychology
Justin Cryer Baseball Senior Park & Recreation Mgmt.
Thomas Flautt Baseball Senior Biology
Scott Haltom Baseball Junior Mechanical Engineering
Jordan Henry Baseball Sophomore Business Undecided
Michael Hubbard Baseball Senior Exercise Science
Cullan Kight Baseball Senior Real Estate
David Kindred Baseball Junior Business Undecided
Lance Lynn Baseball Senior Criminal Justice
Rory McKean Baseball Senior Biochemistry
Zachary Miller Baseball Junior Mathematics Education
Kyle Mills Baseball Senior Family & Consumer Sciences
Jacob Morgan Baseball Sophomore Marketing
Cody Satterwhite Baseball Senior Criminal Justice
Jeremy Travis Baseball Junior Marketing

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
Ricky Bowen Baseball Sophomore Physical Education
Jet Butler Baseball Sophomore Physical Education
Jesse Carver Baseball Senior Physical Education
Will Coggin Baseball Junior Physical Education
Scott Deloach Baseball Junior Physical Education
Nick Hardy Baseball Junior Gen. Business Admin.
Cade Hoggard Baseball Sophomore Physical Education
Grant Hogue Baseball Junior Marketing
Drew Hollinghead Baseball Sophomore Physical Education
Greg Houston Baseball Sophomore Mechanical Engineering
Jared Koon Baseball Junior Gen. Business Admin.
John Lalor Baseball Senior Gen. Business Admin.
Brooks Lewis Baseball Junior Physical Education
Tyler Moore Baseball Junior Physical Education
Jason Nappi Baseball Freshman Banking & Finance
Justin Pigott Baseball Senior Agronomy
Conner Powers Baseball Sophomore Business Economics
Ryan Powers Baseball Freshman Physical Education
Russ Sneed Baseball Sophomore Banking & Finance
Lee Swindle Baseball Junior Physical Education
Aaron Weatherford Baseball Junior Gen. Business Admin.
Tyler Whitney Baseball Sophomore Insurance
Andy Wilson Baseball Senior Biological Sciences


UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Parker Bangs Baseball Sophomore Psychology
Jay Brown Baseball Senior Political Science
Michael Cisco Baseball Junior Retailing
Jordan Costner Baseball Junior Management/Marketing
James Darnell Baseball Junior International Business
Sam Dyson Baseball Sophomore Business
Kyle Enders Baseball Junior Accounting
Reese Havens Baseball Junior Sport and Entertainment Management
Harley Lail Baseball Senior Retailing
Tyler Musselwhite Baseball Junior Exercise Science
Craig Thomas Baseball Junior Biology
Brandon Todd Baseball Senior Retailing
Sean Wideberg Baseball Senior Sociology

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
Daniel Beasley Baseball Senior Political Science
Steve Crnkovich Baseball Sophomore Mechanical Engineering
Shawn Griffin Baseball Senior Political Science
Nick Hernandez Baseball Junior Sport Management
Michael Moore Baseball Senior Enterprise Management
Tanner Moore Baseball Sophomore Sport Management
Bryan Morgado Baseball Sophomore Sport Management
Bryan Powell Baseball Sophomore Finance
Ryne Simpson Baseball Senior Microbiology
Zane Stone Baseball Senior Sport Management


VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
Russell Brewer Baseball Sophomore Human & Organizational Development
Nick Christiani Baseball Junior Economics
Adam Cronk Baseball Senior Human & Organizational Development
Jason Cunningham Baseball Senior Mathematics
Alex Feinberg Baseball Senior Economics
Brad French Baseball Senior Economics
Richie Goodenow Baseball Sophomore Sociology
Parker Hanks Baseball Senior Human & Organizational Development
Brian Harris Baseball Junior Sociology
Alex Hilliard Baseball Sophomore Musical Arts/Teacher Education
Brett Jacobson Baseball Junior Communication Studies
Mark Lamm Baseball Sophomore Human & Organizational Development
Mikie Minor Baseball Sophomore Sociology
Shea Robin Baseball Senior Economics
Steven Schwartz Baseball Senior Economics
Jordan Wormsley Baseball Sophomore Human & Organizational Development

I dont know any of these boys,...but darn if they don't make me proud! They are the youth of the future.

Shortstopmom... You are a gem! Just when I think I'll never post here again, you hit the nail right on the head. That's why I started this thread!

And the Georgia boys did something that every other player on the list you posted is striving to do...get to the finals of the CWS!

I think its amazing and their majors still impress me. Maybe I'm just easily impressed! I know I'm easily amused!

Thank you for the nice compliment KCBaseball,...but in my book, the " gems " are these student athletes!