SAAC to SHU: give us pre-registration
Nine of 11 NEC schools allow student-athletes to pre-register
Dario Melendez The Spectrum
Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: Sports
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Feb. 2 of each year marks National Signing Day, when student-athletes across the nation sign their Letters of Intent, finalizing which university they will be attending in the fall.
But what many of these student-athletes do not realize is the fact that they will have to register for classes that do not conflict with their sport's practice times. This not only leaves them at a disadvantage compared to non student-athletes, who do not have mandatory scheduled practives, but it also puts them at a disadvantage compared to non student-athletes from other universities who are allowed to pre-register.
"There is absolutely no pre-registration for student-athletes here at Sacred Heart," Chris Connerty, the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), said. "Out of the 11 universities in the Northeast Conference, only Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart do not offer some form of pre-registration for their student athletes."
Connerty, a senior forward for men's ice hockey and native of Raynham, Mass., was very shocked when he transferred from Iona College to Sacred Heart and found out that student-athletes here are not able to pre-register for classes.
"At Iona," Connerty said, "all the student-athletes were able to pre-register for classes, with seniors (having) priority over the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. It was great because what many people don't realize is that not every student-athlete is there on a scholarship, leaving them in a bind between the classes that they are paying for and the athletic team that they are committed to."
Pre-registration is an early form of registration for some college students that takes place before the general registration period. Monmouth University, located in West Long Branch, N.J., is one of the schools in the NEC that offers all of its student-athletes the ability to pre-register for classes.
"(Monmouth administration members) recognize the contributions that their student-athletes make both on and off the fields of play," Connerty said. "Athletics is one of the largest sources of revenue, besides tuition, that the university receives."