Idaho should raise academic standards for student-athletes | Opinion

I am writing in my personal capacity as a coach, father and founder. These views are my own.

I’m not writing this to knock schools. I’m not writing this to bash teachers, parents,or coaches either. I’m writing this because I believe Idaho can do better, and because too many student-athletes are being told, directly or indirectly, that doing just enough to stay eligible is enough.

It isn’t.

A D might keep a kid in uniform, but it does not prepare that kid for college, trades, military service, work or life. Passing is not preparation. Eligibility is the floor, not the finish line. Idaho’s current IHSAA rule sets that floor, and schools are allowed to adopt stricter academic eligibility policies if they choose.

If sports are really supposed to build discipline, pride, sacrifice, accountability and leadership, then coaches cannot be extensions of low expectations. We’re supposed to be extensions of the school and extensions of what young people can become. If colleges, employers, trade programs and the military are going to ask more from our kids when they leave us, then why would we not prepare them for that while they are still with us? That’s what’s happening between the walls of a school. Why can’t we do it between our lines?

This is personal for me. I come from a family rooted in education, service, faith, athletics and standards. My mother, Ora Thomas, gave 35 years to education. She taught, coached, led and changed lives. That is in my blood. I’ve also lived enough life to know what happens when people don’t listen, don’t apply themselves or drift from what they were taught. So when I speak on this, I’m not speaking from theory. I’m speaking as a coach who has been there, seen too much talent wasted and refuses to sit quiet while more kids get passed along half-prepared.

I also understand every student is different. Every player has a different learning curve, a different background and a different starting point. But that does not mean we push the minimum. It means we double down. It means we keep working until we figure that student out, and then we figure out the larger problem around them. Different students may need different pacing, plans and interventions, including IEP-based support, but that should push adults to work harder, not expect less. Standards should stay high, and support should rise with them.

That means coaches should be empowered to require mandatory study halls, weekly or biweekly grade checks, mandatory tutoring when needed, mental-health and wellness check-ins, real coach-teacher communication, and actual coach-player conversations instead of waiting on a report card or eligibility list to tell us what shape a kid is in.

That is not overreach. That is coaching.

And if we are serious about this, coaches need the backing of parents, teachers and administrators to actually do it not just talk about it.

The college side already tells us this matters. Idaho State’s assured admission starts at a 2.5 GPA. Boise State’s automatic admission for Idaho residents starts at 2.80, and Idaho’s Opportunity Scholarship requires a 2.7 GPA. High school should not be the place where we lower expectations right before life gets harder.

So my belief is simple: a 2.5 GPA should be the starting point for student-athletes at the program level. A 2.5 is not perfection. It is a real C-level standard that says a student is doing more than surviving. If they can understand it, they can improve it. If they need help, ask. Trying and struggling is still better than settling for the bare minimum.

I’m not here to tear anybody down. I’m here to build something better.

Eligible isn’t enough.

If we really care about Idaho’s kids, we should stop pretending it is.

Alex Moore is a coach, father and founder of Knox Moor Institute / Diamond Cutz Academy. He writes from personal experience in athletics and youth development and is focused on helping student-athletes build stronger habits in the classroom, in competition and in life.