Colleen Evans, the former director of student-athlete academic support services at San Diego State University, loved counseling athletes. Hers was better than a regular advising job, she says, because the focus on athletes alone allowed her to work more closely with fewer students, building stronger relationships and watching the students grow both on the field and off.
But at times, pressures from coaches to keep athletes eligible -- sometimes at the expense of an athlete's academic pursuits -- were too much to bear. ...