NCAA Will Not Accept Records From Prep School In Philadelphia

The NCAA announced yesterday that it will no longer accept academic records from Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia, which last year came under scrutiny for questionable academic practices following reports in The Washington Post and other media outlets.

The Post reported in February 2006 that Lutheran Christian, which sent players to Georgetown and George Washington among other college programs, was operated out of a community center, had no textbooks and had only one full-time employee, basketball coach Darryl Schofield, a former sanitation worker with no college degree.

The NCAA also said it will no longer accept course work from Prince Avenue Preparatory Academy in Pickens, S.C.; American Academy High in Miami; and Florida Preparatory Academy in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The NCAA determined that schools that use the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum must obtain "model or quality" status from ACE, a threshold neither Lutheran Christian nor Prince Avenue met. The NCAA said neither American Academy High nor Florida Preparatory Academy responded to the NCAA's attempts to gather information about their academic programs.

"It is important to note that ensuring prospective student-athletes are academically prepared before college admissions is a shared responsibility," said Kevin C. Lennon, the NCAA's vice president for membership services. "Colleges and universities need to continue to make admissions decisions based on the academic demands of their respective institutions. The issues in nontraditional high schools don't just affect college athletics, but also secondary and postsecondary education."

The NCAA said it has reviewed more than 200 schools after reports in The Washington Post and other media outlets questioned whether some prep schools were little more than "diploma mills."

-- Eric Prisbell