The Arizona State men’s and women’s basketball teams are the latest aspect of the university proving the school is more than just a “party school.”

ASU was one of just three schools to have both the men’s and women’s teams make the Sweet 16 in the inaugural Bracket for Brains and Diversity study.

The Bracket for Brains and Diversity was a study completed by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida. The study focused on the academic progress rate (APR) and graduation success rate (GSR), the gaps occurring between the GSR of white and African-American collegiate athletes and the demographics of the head coaches of the teams projected to make the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments.

With the teams seeded based on these criteria, the Sun Devils’ men’s and women’s teams both excelled, making it to the round of 16, joining Gonzaga and Michigan as the only two other school to have both men’s and women’s teams in the Sweet 16.

“I think it’s awesome that both our men’s and women’s team made it to the Sweet 16,” said Jessica Richardson, a former ASU soccer player who is now the academic coach for ASU men’s basketball. “I think that it’s a testament to the office of student-athlete development and what we do. And then also, the coaching staffs on those teams and the support that they give us in order for us to help their student-athletes … .”

Academic success on top of athletic success can be difficult to achieve for a student-athlete. With the workload required of a college student combined with the dedication to a Division I sport, it can be hard for a student-athlete to balance the two. It is especially difficult for sports such as basketball where unlike football, teams are gone for weekends at a time on road trips many times in a season and may miss Thursday or Friday classes.

However, Richardson and Shay Jewett, the academic coach for ASU women’s basketball said their presence with the teams on road trips helps ease the academic issues these away weekends may cause.

“So I travel with the team when they're in school,” Richardson said. “So I am on the road with them on every road trip that they are in school. So I still hold study halls on the road whenever they have free time or whenever there's an off day between games. I usually hold a team study hall to ensure that they're completing their assignments … being up to date on all their assignments.”

“I help them during a road trip find the opportunity to complete the assignments or do some studying or take an online quiz or a test,” Jewett explained.

It is obviously a unique time to be a college student with school online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. College students are now taking classes online to try and prevent the spread of the disease and promote social distancing. Jewett said she is still in contact with players and helping them with their studies but is doing it virtually.

“A lot of it is similar to what we do in-person and because they’re so used to me, it’s not unusual for me to send a text message-hey guys I need an update on this, can you send me this information,” Jewett stated. “Reaching out to them as a team, reaching out to them individually. I talk to them on the phone, we might do some FaceTime if they have questions or concerns about something.”

ASU women’s basketball has had a long history of academic excellence with a whopping eight players named to the Pac-12’s All-Academic team in 2018. Since Charli Turner Thorne’s first season as the coach of ASU in 1996-97, ASU leads the Pac-12 in first-team all-academic awards with 22.

ASU men’s basketball has had a long history of graduating players of many different backgrounds and in many different majors such as education, Spanish, sociology, and communication.

Richardson spoke on the importance of diversity in the program.

“We have a very diverse team,” Richardson said. “We have people from all over the United States and around the world. So I think that us being able to reach every single person and from all different walks of life and instilling that message of pursuing their education and graduating is extremely important.”