Purdue teams face scholarship losses

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Purdue wide receiver Greg Orton catches a pass during the first day of spring football practice in West Lafayette, Ind., on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Journal & Courier, Andrew Hancock)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: May 2, 2008 at 3:22 PM EST

Story Updated: May 2, 2008 at 3:22 PM EST

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Academic scores for the Purdue football and men's basketball programs are below the NCAA's cutoff rate, which makes them subject to scholarship penalties, the school announced Friday.

Both programs submitted academic improvement plans as part of waiver processes that were approved by the NCAA. If Purdue's established goals are met for the 2007-08 academic year, no scholarships will be lost, school officials said.

The NCAA's Academic Progress Rate focuses on eligibility and retention. It measures the success or failure of collegiate athletic teams in moving student-athletes toward graduation. The NCAA's cutoff score before threatening sanctions is 925. The Purdue football team's score is 920 and the basketball team's score is 894.

Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke said in a news release that there wouldn't be potential penalties if academic standing for transfer students was assessed differently. He believes the system should be reviewed.

"In both of our affected programs, if such student-athletes were not counted against us, we would be over the 925 cutoff and no penalties would be on the table," he said. "But even without any change in the calculation, our plans project both programs being able to achieve a score of 925 or better."

The football team could lose two scholarships for having two student-athletes leave the school while not eligible in the past year.

The basketball team lost a scholarship for the 2007-08 season for having one student athlete leave Purdue while not eligible in the past year. The waiver was filed so the school could avoid additional penalties.

Burke said he believes football coach Joe Tiller and basketball coach Matt Painter have guided Purdue's athletes well. The basketball team boasted a 3.12 cumulative grade-point average at the conclusion of the fall 2007 semester. Last season, 14 football players were named Academic All-Big Ten. A school-record 15 were honored in 2006.

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