“Student Before Athlete”: The Shift in Centenary Athletes’ Study Hall

Study hall has changed a lot this year for Centenary athletes. On top of morning workouts, long practices, and even longer lectures, athletes are required to attend mandatory study hall hours. Located near the Learning Commons, the second floor of the library, students sign a roll call sheet and must meet a number of hours set by their coach. In previous years, study hall was either overseen by a coach for their whole team, or a binder athletes would sign upon entering the library.

Nat Senat, a senior women’s basketball forward, explained, “Everyone has to do study hall. As a student-athlete, we have little time to sit down and work on homework.”

As a Division III school, there is a huge emphasis on academics, organization involvement and success in the game.

Carlie Abbott, a junior softball player, stated, “You have to put an emphasis on the student before the athlete.”

The system for checking study hall hours has become more rigorous. Students must sign in with the coach overseeing the mandatory hours and sign a separate binder for their own coach. Then, they do a roll call 15 minutes in.

Dixie Williams, a sophomore softball pitcher, voiced, “I think it’s a little crazy to sign in so many times.” 

The hours are already starting to pay off.

Abbott explained, “The roll calling is beneficial in a way because it keeps athletes accountable off the field too.”

Another student-athlete,  Julissa Cabrera, a women’s basketball player, agreed, “For someone to be overhead, it does hold accountability.”

Williams also expressed, “It's beneficial. If I’m not studying, then I’m catching up on notes.”

Forcing students to take time out of their long day to sit down, focus on homework and study will help with boosting GPA.

It can be demanding at times, Abbott explained, stating that “Even though I complain about study hall, I get more work done in the library than I do in my own room.” 

There are two sides of every sword, though. While it does benefit student-athletes, some have expressed how taxing study hall can be.

Williams said, “With mandatory things, sometimes you have a bunch of work and other times you have nothing to do.”

Centenary is a small campus. The tables set up in the library are in proximity to each other, which means all the athletes are sitting near each other.

Cabrera states, “For productivity, if all the sports teams are in there at the same time, it can get distracting.”

A downside of this initiative is the change in library hours. Magale used to close at 10 p.m., but this year it closes at 9 p.m. Athletes have expressed that they get kicked out of the library promptly at 9 p.m. regardless of how long they are required to be there.

Student-athletes are forced to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. It is not easy to start your day at 6 a.m. and go until 9:30 p.m., but student-athletes are used to sacrificing their time and energy for improvement.

Senat declared, “Especially at Centenary, it is important to keep high grades. All sports teams have high expectations for grades.” The benefits outweigh the sacrifices. Senat also expressed, “The school is super rigorous academically, so it is helpful and effective. I feel like it's good at forcing me to get work done.” 

It is unknown who is directly in charge of this initiative, but it is safe to say that it is working for the better.