The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
A decision for the future
04.18.2013 | Football
April 18, 2013
Jackie LaPenta, Texas Media Relations
Texas Longhorn freshmen and sophomore football players dined with academic advisors, professors and administrators at the 16th Annual Major Exploration Night held at the Texas Club on April 3.
Brian Davis, associate athletic director for academic services, and life skills counselor Jean Bryant conducted this yearly banquet prior to registration, in hopes of setting students up with the right personnel to assist them in choosing a major. Student-athletes are required to select a degree program by their third year of enrollment, according to NCAA regulations.
"Coach [Mack] Brown has always supported academics, and this is a great tradition that athletics has had for years," Nancy Sutherland, academic advising coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts, said. "It is essential to get the students involved with the faculty and the advisors on campus to really get them thinking ahead."
Sutherland recently received the Liberal Arts Achievement and Advising Award from Lifetime Achievement, illustrating the value and experience the Texas staff members boast.
"I work with students from recruitment to graduation," Sutherland said. "Even though the students are more than just the degree and the major, they still have to choose one and it will make a difference in their life. It is a big decision to make."
Davis set the tone for the evening by addressing the football players with a few inspirational messages prior to dinner.
"The great thing about this university is the opportunities that it provides you, and some of those opportunities are sitting right next to you," Davis said. "These advisors have a wealth of knowledge, and they have a wealth of experience. It is important to know when you go forward that these things are available to you, and they are different than what you do as a football player."
As dinner was served, players utilized their time to open the lines of communication with their educational leaders and worked to build a foundation that will promote a smooth academic journey.
"Football is not going to last forever, so it is important to get my mind right for my career and the future," junior LB Kendall Thompson said. "I don't think any other Division I programs do this kind of stuff. Here, they actually worry about when football is over where we will go, what we will do and what they can do to make us successful."
The advisors noted the most commonly discussed topics at dinner include possible future occupations, the courses required to complete a certain degree program and the process of declaring a major and registering for classes.
"We were talking about having a dream and seeing it," sophomore DE Shiro Davis said about the dinner conversation at his table. "We talked about setting goals to achieve that and see how we are progressing. Once we start seeing it, our bodies will be able to achieve it."
The football life services staff has found that these student-athletes feel more comfortable discussing their future with advisors when they are taken out of a stale office setting and meet in the relaxed dinner environment.
"It is hard to talk to these kinds of people that are so high up," sophomore FB Alex De La Torre said. "Getting them at a personal level and talking about what they do and what you are interested in really does help figure out what you want to do."
"We love it because we get to know them as people rather than their statistics," Sutherland said. "I don't have a computer here, so I can't look at their grades and it is more of the person right in front of us. I think the students enjoy it."
Ultimately, each player will make the final decision about which degree plan he will pursue. The dinner is designed to provide the student-athletes with the tools necessary to take an active role in their academic career and guide them into making an informed decision about their major.
"You are at a wonderful place," Davis summed up. "This university offers you the opportunity to find what you are good at and what you are not so good at. Take all of those things and make a really good decision about what you want to study in your time here at the university."
