Class of ’14 Athletes Get a Start

In the past several years, Boston College has allowed select student-athletes to enroll early in the spring semester of what would be their senior year of high school. Although many universities view the chance to enroll athletes early solely in terms of the students' athletic potential, BC only offers the opportunity to athletes who are competitive academically.

"We only look at incoming student-athletes with good academic standing, who are done with all their high school work," said Chris Cameron, associate athletics director of media relations. "It's not a fit for everyone. We would never talk to a student who wasn't academically ready."

Cameron said that the practice originated due to schools' desires to get football players onto the practice field in time for spring workouts. "Although having the ability to work out with teammates can benefit [these students] athletically, this is not our philosophy," Cameron said. "It's more like the icing on the cake."

The practice of early enrollment is relatively new for BC, which has only offered the opportunity to athletes for the past four years. "BC has had very few football players enroll early," Cameron said. Three players enrolled early this year, the most ever according to Cameron.

One such player is Kevin Pierre-Louis, an incoming freshman and linebacker recruit from King Low Heywood Thomas School in Connecticut. Pierre-Louis, who has been enrolled in the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) since Jan. 13, said he has had a positive experience so far and is happy with his decision. "It has definitely been a transition, but the team has been there for me, and I've learned very fast," he said.
"The three young men here are all outstanding academically," Cameron said. "They are very bright, very mature men, who can handle coming in early and tackling all those things that come with being a freshman."

Although Pierre-Louis has adjusted to his new schedule, it has presented some challenges. "Football-wise, I am definitely glad I took advantage of this opportunity; academically I'm not sure because I didn't have that first semester grace period," he said. "I wanted to take two relaxed classes since I was just getting here, but then I realized there are no relaxed classes here."

In order to enroll early at BC, student-athletes must graduate from high school a semester early, something most students are not open to considering.
"For some students, missing out socially on things like senior prom and graduation is not something they want to do," Cameron said. "These are social occasions that any person looks forward to."

Pierre-Louis, however, wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. "I graduated high school early, and to do that I took a class in the summer and then an additional class the first semester of my senior year," he said. "I didn't have a chance to experience that senioritis." 

According to Cameron, this extra work in high school is worthwhile for certain incoming student-athletes. "Potentially the most positive aspect of student-athletes enrolling early is that, because the time commitment is much lighter in the spring, they can get a feel for campus, establish themselves academically in class, and figure out how they'll need to structure their time in the fall."

Making adjustments is challenging for any freshman, but for student-athletes especially, he said. "When playing a fall sport, you have a lot on your plate as soon as you arrive on campus. With the fall time commitments, being able to come in early can be helpful."
The time commitment in the spring is typically not as heavy for fall sports, but Pierre-Louis already has a busy schedule. "I usually wake up around 4:40 in the morning, then I go lift until 7," he said. "Then I make sure to eat breakfast. This is important because you don't want to lose weight."

Pierre-Louis said that this has been the right fit for him. "I'm definitely happy and I know where I stand with the football team," he said.

Cameron also said that funding is not an issue when allowing these students early enrollment. "Student-athletes that come in are on scholarship," Cameron said. "Their scholarships start when they come in and enroll."

"If this is the right fit for one of our incoming student-athletes, only then would we encourage this," Cameron said. "We're not a football factory here. We want our student-athletes to graduate."