ACM, Clemson have long way to go<\/p>\n
\t\tIn 2011, Clemson head baseball coach Jack Leggett began pushing Clemson University to use the Academic Common Market as a way to help student-athletes, not from the state of South Carolina and not on full scholarship, pay their tuition.
\nBaseball scholarships are not like football or basketball scholarships, the NCAA only allows Division I baseball programs to have 11.7 scholarships to distribute to 27 players. The kicker, players must be given at least 25 percent scholarship money.
\nAt Clemson, that means the majority of the roster has to find some other means of paying its way through school. For some, their parents take care of it, while others qualify for other grants-and-aid. But some, especially those from other states, end up having to take out student loans. Keep in mind 17 players on Clemson\u2019s 2015 roster are from out of state\u2014mostly from Georgia. This is where the Academic Common Market (ACM) can help.
\nThe\u00a0ACM has been in place for 35 years and\u00a0is a tuition-savings program for college students in the 16 Southern Regional Education Board states who want to pursue degrees that are not offered by their in-state institutions. Students can enroll in out-of-state institutions that offer their degree program and pay the institution\u2019s in-state tuition rates.
\nIn other words, with Clemson offering sports communication as a major and a player wants to pursue that as his chosen field and it isn\u2019t offered in a state like Georgia, which participates in the ACM, then he will be eligible for the ACM and will only have to pay for in-state tuition at Clemson.
\nBradley LeCroy, who used the ACM when he was the recruiting coordinator at Tennessee, and Leggett addressed this issue with then athletic director Terry Don Phillips in 2011. Phillips then presented the case to former Clemson University President James Barker. But the Barker administration was not a fan of the ACM and worried it could hurt Clemson\u2019s pursuit to be a top 25 academic institution.
\nWhen Dan Radakovich took over as athletic director and Jim Clements as university President, LeCroy and Leggett approached the new administration about the ACM and this time it got passed. The Clemson Board of Trustees passed the ACM last April and potentially four baseball players, as part of the 2015 Class that will enroll later this summer, are expected to get aid to help with high cost of out-of-state tuition.
\n\u201cIt helps some,\u201d a source close to the baseball program told The Clemson Insider, \u201cbut it\u2019s not as good as other schools. The Clemson program just started it and other schools have had the program in other states for a long time.\u201d
\nClemson accepts just 35 ACM students each fall and once the slots have been filled, they do not accept additional students through the programs.\u00a0Student athletes must be approved for the ACM by their first semester at Clemson and they must be a first-time freshmen or first-time graduate student.
\nIn other words, members currently on the 2015 Clemson roster will not be eligible for the ACM.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a step in the right direction, but they still have a long way to go,\u201d the source said.
\nClemson has 14 majors that are inside the academic common market, and all subsequent offerings are coming forward based on request and need.
\n\u201cIf we want to put accounting, for example, on the academic common market we would have to go to the state of Georgia and Georgia would have to look through all of their schools and say there is no accounting degree so we will do the reciprocity and give them in-state tuition at Clemson,\u201d Radakovich said.
\n\u201cParks & Recreation and Tourism, various horticulture majors, Pan-African studies, sports communications, those are all things that are unique for example. Georgia or Virginia or other states, they don\u2019t have them therefore (the major) will link into the common market.\u201d
\nThe key for Clemson is to make sure the ACM is something student athletes would be interested in. \u00a0Why?\u00a0 Receipt of an ACM waiver may affect eligibility for other\u00a0recruiting scholarships.
\n\u201cWe rely on our coaches to come back to us and say, \u2018I was recruiting Susie of Johnny and they wanted to see if we can place (horticulture) on the academic common market?\u2019 There is a process to go through in order to do that and there is really no inhibiting us to put another major through to run that process and run the gamut of the different states,\u201d Radakovich said. \u201cThere is no guarantee that it comes back that way with a positive answer.
\n\u201cThe folks on campus have told us \u2018As you find some of these, let us know and we will see if we can do it.\u2019\u201d
\nWith Clemson unable to guarantee a prospect it can get him at least eligible for the ACM, other schools like Virginia, North Carolina and Vanderbilt have found other means that can entice a potential baseball recruit away from Clemson.
\nFor example, North Carolina has a program that is 100 percent need base, meaning a prospects\u2019 parents can only pay $10,000 a year, then the school\u2014thanks to its $2.6 billion endowment\u2014will take care of the rest.
\nThere are a lot of situations like North Carolina\u2019s that Clemson competes against on the recruiting trail. Even South Carolina, who competes with Clemson for a lot of the same talent from the state of Georgia, has more academic money and financial aid to offer.
\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t come close to the other financial aid that other schools get to work with,\u201d the source said.
\nOf course none of this was a factor at Clemson until the NCAA forced baseball coaches in 2010 to give just 27 student-athletes the 11.7 scholarships at least 25 percent.
\nAlso something Clemson\u2019s Olympic sports have to consider when recruiting a student athlete who may want to use the ACM, they have to make sure all the space isn\u2019t taken up. Any incoming freshmen planning to attend Clemson this fall and beyond, is eligible for the 35 slots.
\nSo what happens if all 35 slots are taken?
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have that conversation until we reach thirty,\u201d Radakovich joked. \u201cI\u2019m just being realistic. It is kind of moving forward as it moves forward and if it gets to a point where we are approaching that ceiling then we will need to talk about, A) has this program been good for Clemson as a university. And if we can say, \u2018Hey, it has been really good for athletics so that\u2019s a thumbs up from us,\u2019 has there been some other positives?
\n\u201cThen the university has to go out and make a decision, but that is not on our critical path right now. We are still beginning to use it.\u201d
\nAnd for Clemson\u2019s Olympic sports, especially the baseball program, they hope it gets better sooner rather than later.
\nIn 2011, Clemson head baseball coach Jack Leggett began pushing Clemson University to use the Academic Common Market as a way to help student-athletes, not from the state of South Carolina and not on full scholarship, pay their tuition. Baseball scholarships are not like football or basketball scholarships, the NCAA only allows Division I baseball programs to have 11.7 scholarships to distribute to 27 players. The kicker, players must be given at least 25 percent scholarship money. At Clemson, that means the majority of the roster has to find some other means of paying its way through school. For some, their parents take care of it, while others qualify for other grants-and-aid. But some, especially those from other states, end up having to take out student loans. Keep in mind 17 players on Clemson\u2019s 2015 roster are from out of state\u2014mostly from Georgia. This is where the Academic Common Market (ACM) can help. The\u00a0ACM has been in place for 35 years and\u00a0is a tuition-savings program for college students in the 16 Southern Regional Education Board states who want to pursue degrees that are not offered by their in-state institutions. Students can enroll in out-of-state institutions that offer their degree program and pay the institution\u2019s in-state tuition rates. In other words, with Clemson offering sports communication as a major and a player wants to pursue that as his chosen field and it isn\u2019t offered in a state like Georgia, which participates in the ACM, then he will be eligible for the ACM and will only have to pay for in-state tuition at Clemson. Bradley LeCroy, who used the ACM when he was the recruiting coordinator at Tennessee, and Leggett addressed this issue with then athletic director Terry Don Phillips in 2011. Phillips then presented the case to former Clemson University President James Barker. But the Barker administration was not a fan of the ACM and worried it could hurt Clemson\u2019s pursuit to be a top 25 academic institution. When Dan Radakovich took over as athletic director and Jim Clements as university President, LeCroy and Leggett approached the new administration about the ACM and this time it got passed. The Clemson Board of Trustees passed the ACM last April and potentially four baseball players, as part of the 2015 Class that will enroll later this summer, are expected to get aid to help with high cost of out-of-state tuition. \u201cIt helps some,\u201d a source close to the baseball program told The Clemson Insider, \u201cbut it\u2019s not as good as other schools. The Clemson program just started it and other schools have had the program in other states for a long time.\u201d Clemson accepts just 35 ACM students each fall and once the slots have been filled, they do not accept additional students through the programs.\u00a0Student athletes must be approved for the ACM by their first semester at Clemson and they must be a first-time freshmen or first-time graduate student. In other words, members currently on the 2015 Clemson roster will not be…<\/p>\n