Fresno State Athletics
Academic Gameplan
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Academic Commitment
It didn't take first-year Fresno State head football coach Pat Hill long to stamp academics as a priority in his football program. Just days after being named the Bulldogs' head coach, Hill scored a coup by luring John Baxter to his coaching staff - but it was as much for Baxter's experience as an educator as for the national reputation he has earned coaching special teams.
"When it comes to academics and football, he's as good as anybody in the country," says Hill.
| In just one year, the Academic Gameplan has made an amazing difference in the lives of Bulldog student athletes. The number of players and team GPA have risen each semester, and the number of student-athletes achieving an academic personal record (highest GPA a student-athlete has achieved in a given semester) reached a high of 28 in the spring of 1998. Here is a brief look at what has happened in just a few semesters the plan has been implemented: *Fall '96 *Spg '97 Fall '97 Spg '98Players above 3.0 for semester 8 18 43 46 |
Hill should know. The two worked side by side at the University of Arizona in the early 1990s, when Hill witnessed first-hand the impact Baxter's Academic Gameplan had on the players in the Wildcats' football program. Now, Fresno State football players are reaping the benefits of the innovative study-skills program developed and patented by Baxter, who earned a master's degree in higher education in 1987. In fact, the Academic Gameplan has not only drawn favorable reviews from current Bulldog football players using it for the first time, but also from university professors who have noticed a significant change in the way those same players are approaching their classes.
Originally designed to improve the academic success of student-athletes, the fundamentals and techniques taught in the Academic Gameplan can be utilized by all students who want to succeed or improve in the classroom.
"The Academic Gameplan eliminates the trial and error process for students and instead provides solid fundamentals and simple, effective strategies for learning," says Baxter, whose program has been adopted and put into practice at a number of other universities across the country. "In turn, this allows for concentration on the subject matter and greater motivation, making the student experience much more interesting and rewarding. We realize that whether it's a football game or a math class, execution fuels emotion in all cases. It's the 'big play' that excites the crowd and infuses the team with spirit and drive. Execution is the bottom line behind winning, and the key to execution is a great plan. When that plan starts with solid fundamental preparation, that plan has a chance to be executed."
The Basics Fundamentals -
These are the skills that serve as building blocks for executing greater and more complex tasks, much like a football player who learns to block and tackle long before he is taught any plays.
Magic of Why -
Academic Gameplan believes that you should never do something because someone tells you to do it; do it only because you know why. The "magic of why" provides a strong, defendable motivation to try a new technique.
Power of How -
This aspect of the Academic Gameplan empowers students to execute a gameplan for academic success, with special emphasis on classroom positioning, notetaking skills, and techniques for reading, review and preparation.
Gameplan Notebook -
A special three-ring notebook organizes each student's semester gameplan, allowing students to track upcoming assignments, tests and quizzes; store all notes, class handouts, finished tests and completed assignments; and keep a running iscoreboardi which monitors their individual progress in each class. "We use athletics and sports as a continual theme in the Academic Gameplan," says Baxter, "because of the clear correlation we draw between how athletes are prepared for competition and how a student must prepare for a test. Mastering the fundamentals is necessary for both athletic and academic success. Through athletic analogies, we draw clear parallels. And by relating the material in this manner, we ensure confidence with the student as the skills and goals are attained. The analogies not only simplify the students' process but also provide the motivation because the goals become attainable through application of these simple fundamentals. Now they have an academic gameplan!"