Choosing a College: Find the Balance

You’re not just an athlete. You’re a student-athlete, which means there is more to your life than strapping on cleats or kicks and going out to compete. You look to excel in the classroom, on the field and in life. And once you’re done competing in your sport, your education will help you fashion a successful career. You know that choosing a college based solely on its athletic prowess can prevent you from having a productive academic experience. Likewise, picking a school for its academic prestige alone can deter you from fulfilling your athletic destiny.

Knowing all this, STACK created the Elite 50, a ranking of the best schools for academically minded athletes. After months of crunching numbers—wins, losses, championship titles, school rankings and academic progress—we offer you a groundbreaking compilation of information that you will need to choose a school that provides the right balance of academics and athletics.

Taking the title of our first Elite 50, as the best school for combining sports and studies, is the University of North Carolina. We traveled down to Chapel Hill to congratulate the Tar Heels and find out what goes into making such an extraordinary school. The experiences of three outstanding athletes, Tyler Hansbrough, Erlana Larkins and Chad Flack, confirmed the outcome of all of our calculations: UNC is where it’s at for student-athletes.

Tyler Hansbrough
Men’s Basketball

The UNC men’s basketball team is one of the most tradition-rich and successful programs in the country, and Tyler Hansbrough is leading their recent charge. “North Carolina has always been a powerhouse in basketball, and I’ve always wanted to play for a school that gets a lot of recognition,” Hansbrough says. “UNC stood out to me in high school because it’s North Carolina basketball.”

Attracting prospective students is great, but it’s equally important to challenge standout athletes once they arrive on campus to study. “Since coming to UNC, I’ve improved a tremendous amount,” says Hansbrough, a communications major. “This university has an academic standard that’s really high, so I’m always working hard in the classroom. On the court, I think Coach Williams is one of the greatest coaches of all time; so I’ve improved in many ways under his program. I’m now able to do many things—both on the court and in class—that I couldn’t before.”

On North Carolina leading the Elite 50, Hansbrough pretty much sums up his school’s status. “UNC being named by STACK as the top school that combines academics with athletics doesn’t surprise me at all,” he says. “I’ve been here, and I’ve seen everything we have to offer academically and athletically. I know it’s truly an honor to be a student-athlete here.”

Erlana Larkins
Women’s Basketball

There’s no drop-off on the women’s side of UNC basketball. Led by 6’1” forward/center Erlana Larkins, the Lady Tar Heels have finished among the top six teams in the nation the past three seasons. Larkins, who checked out both Georgia and North Carolina as prospective colleges, chose UNC based on her desired major—African American studies. “Besides basketball, the most important thing for me when I was looking at schools was my major,” she says. “I thought about what I wanted to do, and UNC made a lot of sense.”

In addition to on-court success, the UNC women’s basketball players exemplify some of the best academic progress in the nation. “There’s a big transition from high school to college,” Larkins says. “But once you get settled in here, you have so many tutors and opportunities to receive help. They have an academics center on campus, the AC. It’s a group of staff members who help us with various studies, depending on their area of expertise. They’ve been so helpful.”

Chad Flack
Baseball

The Tar Heels’ third baseman had it pretty good last year. He took home the National Championship on the diamond while working towards a degree in sports administration. But that’s not all. Flack also has high praise for UNC’s extra-curricular offerings. “You have the great academics and athletics,” he says. “But you’ve also got this unbelievable student life here. It doesn’t get better anywhere in the country when you look at that. And that’s why I’ve fallen in love with this university. It’s a dream come true for me, and I think I can say that for every student-athlete here because of how we’re treated.”

Hoping to become a college coach some day, Flack foresees no problems convincing people of his abilities. “Once you graduate from here and you show that diploma to whomever you’re trying to work for, it means a great deal because it’s a very prestigious university,” he says. “The status you have when you come out of North Carolina is unprecedented, and you’ve got to love it. I’ll be able to carry that with me the rest of my life.”