Two SWAC and two MEAC programs earn NCAA academic assistance grants

The NCAA has awarded more than $4 million in grants to nine Division I schools – including Alcorn State and Texas Southern of the SWAC and Hampton and Florida A&M of the MEAC – to support academic programs that help student-athletes earn their degrees.

The schools are recipients of the Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP) Comprehensive Grant (multi-year) that will provide resources to help schools improve the academic success of their student athletes by funding additional academic advisors, graduate assistants and computer technology during team travel. The goal is to support the school’s efforts to meet the requirements of the Division I Academic Performance Program, which was developed to ensure schools provide an environment that supports education while enhancing the ability of student-athletes to earn a degree.

The grant to Alcorn State is worth $900,000, while Texas Southern received the Accelerated Academic Success Program Initiatives Grant (single year) worth $80,608. Hampton and Florida A&M Departments of Athletics received $675,000 each, over a three-year period, to support its athletic programs. Schools eligible to apply for the program are non-FBS Division I schools in the bottom 10 percent of resources as determined by per capita institutional expenditures, athletics department funding and Pell Grant aid.

“We have some very bright and gifted student-athletes who are already a source of pride for the University,” said Eugene Marshall Jr., Hampton Director of Athletics. “This grant will help us equip them with the tools and support to continue to excel.” The comprehensive grants will be distributed over a three-year period and used to fund increased academic support services staffing and space; technology upgrades (software and hardware); career planning; professional development; and increased availability of summer financial aid for student-athletes.

Schools can request a maximum of $300,000 per year for three years. The participating schools are required to match grant dollars each year of the program, with either direct funds and/or in-kind contributions. In the first year, the school must commit a 25-percent match, 50 percent in year two and 75 percent in year three. The announced awards mark the third round of Accelerating Academic Success Program funding distributed by the NCAA.