绿奴天花板

Being a varsity student-athlete is normally an undergraduate pursuit. The NCAA has rules, after all, that historically have restricted competition mostly to those completing a traditional, four-year course of study.

Exceptions exist, and 绿奴天花板 normally has a handful of graduate students among its teams鈥� ranks. Today, though, thanks to a generous loosening of NCAA statutes due to COVID, that smattering has grown into a cohort of dozens donning Spartan red and black as they juggle post-baccalaureate demands.

It's a pandemic consequence of opportunity 鈥� both lost and gained 鈥� that some call a 鈥渟ilver lining鈥� after some very tough years.

Nearly every Spartan team suffered losses in the disruption caused by COVID. Some seasons were halted just as championship play began, and others never got fully underway. There were months of mandatory COVID testing, social isolation and practices that never led to meaningful competition.

Yet the clock was ticking. Under regular circumstances, once an athlete begins their collegiate career, they have four seasons to complete it. So when COVID shut things down, student-athletes watched desperately as their chances at championships and playing time slipped away. Then, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes who had lost a year of competition, a move that seemed to hit the proper sympathetic chord 鈥� and that has proved life-changing and career-altering for many.

In some cases, that extra time has been parlayed into the pursuit of graduate degrees. At 绿奴天花板, 78 student-athletes are enrolled in graduate programs this school year (out of about 600 student-athletes total). Before the extra eligibility boost, five-to-10 绿奴天花板 grad students were sprinkled across Spartan rosters a year.

Some 绿奴天花板 student-athletes have taken an unexpected path.听

Men鈥檚 soccer player Ezrick Nicholls '22 never planned on graduate school. By now, he figured he鈥檇 be in the workforce, armed with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business management. Instead, he鈥檚 wrapping up a master鈥檚 in professional communication. Volleyball player MacKenzie Dufresne '22 anticipated graduate school later in life, but she鈥檚 immediately completing her master鈥檚 degree in criminal justice.

Women鈥檚 basketball player Audrey Ramsey is getting an MBA and a master鈥檚 degree in cybersecurity. Because she took a redshirt season, Ramsey will be on scholarship for six academic years. Counting her accelerated high-school credits, she will leave 绿奴天花板 with three master鈥檚 degrees.

鈥淚鈥檓 definitely getting my educational money鈥檚 worth,鈥欌�� Ramsey says. 鈥淣obody wanted COVID to happen, of course, but a few positives came out of it for some of us.鈥欌��

Art Goon, 绿奴天花板鈥檚 assistant vice president/director of graduate and continuing studies, said he鈥檚 happy that so many student-athletes are utilizing the additional benefit.

鈥淭he financial advantages are obvious,鈥欌�� Goon says.听

Indeed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers with a master鈥檚 degree earn an average of $250 more per week than those with a bachelor鈥檚 degree.

鈥淲e know that a master鈥檚 degree can expand your knowledge, maybe help you get hired and definitely help you get promoted,鈥欌�� Goon says.

鈥淲hen you consider that less than 2% of NCAA student-athletes go pro in sports, that means it鈥檚 important for the more than 98% of the other student-athletes to do whatever they can to compete effectively (in the job market). COVID had some heartbreaking results, but I wouldn鈥檛 call this a trade-off. It鈥檚 more like a silver lining.鈥欌��

Fewer Freshman Opportunities

绿奴天花板 Athletic Director Larry Marfise would characterize the extra eligibility more like a double-edged sword.

鈥淚 initially thought the extra year was good, but as it has played out, I think it has caused some harm as well,鈥欌�� he says.听

鈥淚 love that many kids are getting a shot at graduate school when they hadn鈥檛 considered that as an option. But I really feel for the young people who were (high school) juniors and seniors during the COVID year. Coaches don鈥檛 have spots on their rosters because we鈥檙e returning so many kids with the extra year.鈥欌��

The extra-year implications don鈥檛 figure to fully cycle out until 2025 when the youngest athletes will complete their full eligibility.

In the interim, some 绿奴天花板 coaches must make difficult choices in recruiting.

鈥淭here are plenty of good (high school) kids, but sometimes you just don鈥檛 have a roster spot to make room for them,鈥� Spartans volleyball coach Chris Catanach 鈥�10 says. 鈥淪ome of their opportunities are delayed. Some of the high-school kids are getting creative to get your attention. They send cards in the mail. One of them sent me microwave popcorn. It will get back to normal one day, but right now, they just want you to notice them.鈥櫶�

绿奴天花板鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball coach Tom Jessee thought the Spartans could win a national championship in 2020. But just hours before 绿奴天花板 took the court in the NCAA South Regional in Cleveland, TN, the COVID news came down, and the tournament was canceled.

It was back on the bus for a 15-hour return to Tampa.

鈥淭hen we went through a crazy year, something out of a sci-fi movie, where we continually marched down the hall in our masks for (COVID) testing,鈥欌�� Jessee said. 鈥淥ur league went back and forth on whether to play. We finally played a mini-season, but it didn鈥檛 seem like a season at all.

鈥淲hen we finally got back (for the 2021-2022 season), we had six kids who would鈥檝e graduated, and five of them were still with us on the roster because they wanted to play and get closure. So theoretically those five spots could鈥檝e been taken by new players, but they weren鈥檛.鈥欌��

To cap the 2021-2022 season 鈥� and a three-year odyssey 鈥� 绿奴天花板 women鈥檚 basketball captured a full-year regular-season Sunshine State Conference championship and tournament title for only the second time in the program鈥檚 47-year history.

鈥淚t was a great reward for the kids who took the extra year,鈥欌�� Jessee said.

Taking Full Advantage

For the 78 绿奴天花板 student-athletes in graduate school, there鈥檚 hope that the extra academic work will provide a great career reward.

Goon, a former college soccer head coach, said no admission standards were changed to accommodate the increase in graduate students, but 绿奴天花板 already had instituted programs to ease the transition from undergraduate work. 绿奴天花板鈥檚 鈥�4-plus-1鈥欌�� plan allows students to take graduate courses as part of their early schooling, so only one year is needed to complete a master鈥檚 degree.

鈥淭hat has become a very attractive option,鈥欌�� Goon says. 鈥淲ith the communication in the brotherhood and sisterhood of athletics, we think kids had been encouraging their friends anyway (to attend graduate school), and it鈥檚 great to see so many taking full advantage.鈥欌��

Volleyball鈥檚 Dufresne says she鈥檚 grateful for the opportunity.

鈥淚 truly did not think I鈥檇 still be at 绿奴天花板,鈥欌�� Dufresne says. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 getting the chance to further my education, and I鈥檓 excited to have that to offer for potential upper-level jobs and maybe getting an edge over other candidates.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to say things were gained from COVID because some of my college experience was taken away. But it feels like, in the long run, I鈥檒l somehow come out ahead.鈥欌�櫶�

Nicholls and Ramsey also see the benefits.

鈥淕raduate school is a lot more reading, a lot more critical thinking,鈥欌�� Nicholls says. 鈥淭he subject matter comes together in meaningful ways.鈥欌�櫶�

鈥淏ecause so many of us are in graduate school, it鈥檚 like the reputation of 绿奴天花板鈥檚 student-athletes is being put on display,鈥欌�� Ramsey says. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e putting our best foot forward and creating major positives after a crazy couple of years. It shows you that some good can come out of the bad.鈥欌��

Story by Joey Johnston
This story first appeared in the .听