Bratzke

Bratzke Student-Athlete Academic Success Center

The Bratzke Student-Athlete Academic Success Center located in the Crabbe Library opened in June of 2000 after the generous donation given by its benefactor, Chad Bratzke. Chad was a walk-on to the EKU football team and went on to achieve success in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts. The former EKU All-American, Bratzke earned many academic honors while at EKU including Colonel Scholar and Presidential Scholar.

The Bratzke Student-Athlete Academic Success Center offers a variety of support services including mentoring, tutoring, study hall, academic progress monitoring and academic advising to help assist the more than 350 EKU student-athletes reach their full academic potential. The Bratzke Center offers a separate tutoring room, computer lab, academic advising office suite and quiet study space. A staff of academic advisors, tutors, and mentors work one on one with student-athletes to provide them support in their transition from high school to college and throughout their careers at EKU.

Academic Services Provided for Student-Athletes

  • Academic Advising
  • Priority Registration for Classes
  • Mentoring Program
  • Tutoring Program
  • Academic Skill Development
  • Learning Specialist
  • Community Outreach
  • Study Hall
  • Travel Notifications to Professors
  • Assistance with Recruiting Visits
  • NCAA Eligibility and Academic Monitoring

Learning Support


Bratzke offers a comprehensive learning support program. We serve student-athletes with academic support through the Learning Specialist and tutors to improve study skills, organization, time management, as well as course tutoring. Weekly sessions help our student-athletes balance academic responsibilities and develop skills to become effective learners. Assistance is given to students with documented learning disabilities or academic deficiencies to ensure they are registered with the Center for Student Accessibility. The Learning Specialist will work closely with Athletic Academic Advisors to identify academically at-risk student-athletes and conduct meetings with students to address academic needs. The Learning Specialist will coordinate services including screening, testing, access to academic accommodations and workshops.

The Learning Specialist will review incoming student-athlete’s GPA to determine if testing and/or tutoring will be advised. When a student-athlete enrolls with a GPA lower than 2.5, they will be referred for academic testing

The Learning specialist will design and implement sessions to address main areas of academic skill development to include but not limited to: goal setting, time management, organization, study skills, and self-advocacy. Sessions will also be designed to facilitate training for mentors, tutors, advisors, coaches, and other athletic staff regarding learning development and strategies.

Student-Athletes have the opportunity to check out MAC laptops, Dell Laptops and calculators through Bratzke.

Upon arrival all athletes will be asked to complete the “Bratzke Academic history form” The data collected provides the Learning Specialist with information to guide access to accommodations and determine if additional academic skill development may be needed. If a student-athlete voluntarily disclosed that they had a 504 Plan or an IEP in place during high school, they may qualify for accommodations through the Center for Student Accessibility. The Learning Specialist will serve as a liaison with the CSA through guiding the student-athlete through the process to sign up for services with CSA.

Student-athletes are assigned study hall hours based upon their EKU GPA, their year in school, and the recommendations of their coaches. In general, All incoming freshmen are assigned 6-8 hours a week and incoming transfers a minimum of 4 hours of study hall a week. After the initial term of enrollment at EKU, continuing study hall requirements will be based on GPA, coach and advisor recommendation and current review of academic progress and success in the classroom. Students are to accumulate all their hours by Noon on Friday. Those who did not meet their study hall requirements by end of the week will be reported to their coaching staff.

Study Hall Expectations

THE BRATZKE TEAM
Bratzke is here to assist you. Please treat the team members with the courtesy and respect that you would like afforded to you. Please utilize your time wisely while in study hall and be productive during your study hall hours.

CHECK-IN and CHECK-OUT
The computer at the front desk will register the time you arrive and the time you leave. If you should have any problems with the program, please alert the front desk monitor. If you sign-in and leave the facility without signing out, your time will not count toward your weekly total. In addition your coach will be notified. Teamworks is an app you will use to check in and out of study hall along with help manage your daily schedules and communication with athletic department, Bratzke Staff and Coaches.

COMPUTER LAB
You are allowed to check e-mail and use computers for homework, projects, and assignments only. You are not allowed to use the lab for social media. Save your work to your Google Drive or EKU One Drive or email it to yourself.

CELL PHONES
Please refrain from using them during your tutoring session, mentoring session, or study hall. If you need to make a call please step outside of the center to minimize distractions.

NO SLEEPING
Please come prepared to study. If you are sleeping, you will be asked to leave.

NOISE
Bratzke is a quiet study area for our athletes. Please minimize distractions and keep voices low.

FACILITY APPEARANCE
Please help us keep the center clean and organized.

DRY ERASE MARKERS/ ERASERS
Markers and erasers are available for your use. Please clean the board when you are finished.

The BRATZKE members are here to create and maintain a positive learning environment. If you do not abide by the rules, you will be asked to leave. If you are having problems with another student-athlete or you have a concern, please alert the front desk immediately.

Many student-athletes participate in our mentoring program designed to help students find academic success early in their academic career.


Those students in the S.T.A.R program (Setting Targets, Achieving Results) meet weekly or more with their Bratzke Center Athletic Academic Advisor or Learning Specialist to review academic progress, establish weekly objectives to complete and discuss any current issues each semester. This information is helpful to the student-athletes but is also shared with the coaching staff to keep them updated on the students’ progress.

Eastern Kentucky University offers great opportunities for student-athletes to connect with many great career options regionally. Academic Advisors mentor our student-athletes to help them find and identify their vocation and passion.

EKU offers Career Services to our students. We recommend you make an appointment here when you have earned 90 credits.

EKU football offers Suits For Seniors in preparation for their future career endeavors.

How Not to Suck at Money helps college students build core financial skills through an interactive game. Students learn how to budget, invest, plan and spend intentionally, all through choice-based gameplay and short videos. Every element of How Not to Suck at Money was informed by research with over 1,500 college students, which resulted in a game that can be played on any device (mobile, tablet or desktop) in their spare time. There is no download required and students can start with whatever topic is most interesting to them. Students that complete the game receive a certificate of completion that can be showcased on LinkedIn as well as a financial education playbook which summarizes key learnings and additional resources.

NCAA

  • 6 hrs. – Fall
  • 6 hrs. – Spring
  • 18 hrs. Fall and Spring
  • 24 hrs. Freshman FA+SP+SU
  • Progress Toward Degree- 40/60/80 – % of degree completion
  • Must be full time (12 credit hours UG, 9 Hours Graduation)

EKU

  • <2.00 EKU GPA
  • If you ever fall below a 2.0 EKU GPA you will go on Academic Probation and must earn a 2.0 Term or EKU GPA that next term to stay in school. If you don’t you will be placed on Academic Suspension.
  • <1.00 EKU GPA
  • Automatic ACADEMIC SUSPENSION

Watch this webinar for international college-bound student-athletes and their families. The one-hour webinar includes an easy-to-understand overview of the academic requirements, as well as perspective on the recruiting process from a former NCAA student-athlete.

Our Mission & Goals


Our most important pursuit is inspiring the quest for academic excellence of our student-athletes through structured support programming focused on a culture of integrity, and accountability. We want to aspire greatness and educate our students to become self-directed thinkers and learners. We want our student-athletes to discover who they are as leaders and develop effective leadership skills to empower themselves and make a difference.

Our Goals

  • To emphasize academic integrity through ensuring compliance with EKU, ASUN and NCAA academic requirements and regulations
  • To provide multifaceted academic support services, which will assist student-athletes in achieving academic success
  • To offer educational workshops and programming focusing on career, personal, professional and leadership development
  • To provide community service opportunities to our student-athletes to enhance their overall college experience through serving others