DaytonDailyNews.com

Beth Flach is the academic coordinator for the University of Dayton men's basketball program, and she operates like a coach — pushing, prodding and even giving players grief when they're tempted to slack off in the classroom.

Senior forward Charles Little found out early what happens to those who try to slide by on Flach's watch.

"My freshman and sophomore years, she got on my case, but I've gotten better about it," he said. "If it needs to be done, she'll get BG (coach Brian Gregory) on you, which is what you really don't want to have happen."

Flach, who started at UD in 2006, is on a mission to make sure players make academics as much of a priority as basketball. But she doesn't always take a stern approach.

"I think I'm a combination of older sister and mom," she said. "Where older sister lets you slip by sometimes, mom never does. It just depends on where they're at. They know I'm only here to make sure they succeed."

The Flyers have been doing a lot of that lately. They just posted their best team grade-point average since Flach arrived, earning nearly a 3.0 last semester. The Flyers also had a Graduation Success Rate of 89 percent last year, which ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic 10 and 11th among the 65 teams in this year's NCAA tournament. Unlike federal graduation rates, the GSR doesn't penalize schools for transfer students, but does hold them accountable for incoming transfers.

"The biggest goal I had when I came here was to build a culture where you're the odd man out if you don't buy into the system. ... This is a team that wants to succeed, whether it's in the class or on the court," Flach said.

Players are responsible for communicating with professors about missing class for road trips, but Flach, who also works with the women's basketball program, acts as a liaison between the

faculty and team to make sure nothing gets overlooked.

She traveled with the men to the A-10 tournament last week and worked with the coaching staff to set up mandatory study halls. She even facilitated a history exam for Chris Wright, London Warren and Josh Benson at the team hotel.

When the Flyers left for the NCAA tournament Wednesday, most of the players were packing textbooks, although Flach arranged for some to take tests and submit papers in advance so they could enjoy the trip as much as possible.

"School goes on while they're not here — that's the hard part," she said. "It's making sure they're keeping pace so that, when we get back, we're not playing catch-up."

Little, the team's lone senior, may not have always liked being pushed, but Flach's attentiveness has paid off. He'll graduate on time in May with a degree in general studies that includes concentrations in communications, health and sports science and social sciences.

"Charles is one of the first players I met, and I've really watched him mature," Flach said. "I know when he leaves here, he's been given life skills that will take him far."

Hitting the books

How UD ranks among the 65 schools in this year's NCAA tournament:

Academic Progress Rate — 974 (8th)

Student-Athlete Graduation Rate — 96 percent (tied for 2nd)

Men's basketball Graduation Rate — 89 percent (tied for 11th)

Note: The Academic Progress Rate was created by the NCAA in 2004 as part of an academic reform package. Programs that score below 925 in APR can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships. Twenty-one teams in this year's tournament have scores below 925. Seven of them will be subject to penalties by the NCAA: Cal State Northridge, USC, Cleveland State, Morehead State, Portland State, Purdue and Tennessee.

Source: The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports