Oklahoma State University Athletics
It's All Academic At OSU
April 28, 2010 | Cowboy Football
April 28, 2010
by Stefan Nolet
The Oklahoma State athletic department strives to prepare its football players to be the best that they can on the field, but also wants the players to become the best students and citizens as well.
Marilyn Middlebrook, OSU's associate athletic director for academic affairs, said the staff of the academic affairs office wants all of the football players to be able to graduate, but they also want the players to learn life skills.
"We work on time management, we work on study skills, we work on life skills," Middlebrook said. "We work on being able to communicate with people, being able to communicate with professors, being able to communicate with the roommates and the parents."
Middlebrook moved to the athletic department in 1997 after working as the director of academic services in the OSU college of education. She said she welcomed the change and viewed it as an opportunity to help athletes succeed during their time at OSU.
Although she is the head of the department, Middlebrook said it is a team effort making sure the athletes are staying on top of their studies.
"It's not me, this is definitely a we effort," Middlebrook said. "Everyone on the staff is completely committed to making sure the players do things on time."
Middlebrook said the academic affairs office has 10 people on staff dedicated to helping the players with their academics, along with 75-100 tutors and 10-12 facilitators who work with the players daily on an individual basis.
She said being successful in the classroom is important not only because players have to pass their classes in order to play, but also because players who are successful with their schoolwork also perform well on the field.
"If they strive in the classroom to be successful, they take that same work ethic and they take those same kind of commitments and they put them onto the football field," Middlebrook said.
One of her favorite examples of a player who took care of business in the classroom and saw it pay off on the football field is former Cowboy offensive tackle Russell Okung, who was taken with the sixth pick of the 2010 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks. She said Okung came to college determined to excel academically.
Middlebrook also said one of her favorite success stories of a football player is current running back Kendall Hunter. She said it makes her proud to see how far he has a come as a student and an individual since coming to OSU.
"Kendall is an extreme success story because he really struggled in school and didn't come in with all the skills he needed to be successful," Middlebrook said. "He works diligently. He'll spend four, five, six hours a day in the academic enrichment center, besides playing football, besides going to class.
Ultimately, the athletic department wants the football players to work hard in the classroom because the players who succeed in class generally are the players who succeed on the field.
"Students who graduate with really high GPA's that are excellent students are also excellent football players," Middlebrook said. "There is a correlation between the two. I think it's a commitment and an extremely strong work ethic and time management. They're able to balance everything."
