Keene State Cheerleading Program Gets Straight A’s

Keene State College proves how their athletes’ success on the field is secondary to their quest for knowledge as students. At Keene State College, academic achievement is a serious subject for student-athletes. The university has a strict academic policy where studying comes first and sports, second. The school’s dedication to scholastic achievement is such an important element of their athletic programs that student athletes are required to provide their coaches with weekly academic progress reports. “Academics and basketball are two of my highest priorities,” commented one Keene State basketball player. …and it shows. Keene State’s unique requirements for student-athletes not only keep coaches, athletes and administrators on the same page, but also ensure that student-athletes don’t get burned out or left-behind. “We allow our athletes to miss practice for study groups, extra credit events and other commitments,” shares Head Cheerleading Coach Linda Lawton. By creating academic accommodations for their students, those at Keene State not only earn better grades than other teams in their conference, but apparently are more likely to graduate college. According to the Keene Equinox, 70 percent of athletes who began attending Keene State in 2003 had graduated by 2009. Surprisingly, this figure trumps the national average for student athlete graduation by a whopping 17 percent. What’s more, Keene State not only produces more graduates, but also more successful students. The school has been home to numerous Academic All-Americans and has also been awarded the “Little East Conference Commissioner’s Cup’ trophy for academic success every year, for the past ten years. By going above and beyond the normal standards in-place for NCAA student athletes, Keene State not only proves its teams can be successful on the field, but also in the classroom.