<p>D and I have been following women’s college basketball for years. We watched the live broadcast of the WNBA draft last Monday night. </p>
<p>WNBA season starts really soon and it appears that the ladies went straight to training camp.</p>
<p>How do they finish college? I assume they are already taking a light load during their season, but do they just take incompletes and finish up next fall or winter? </p>
<p>And don’t say that most of them don’t graduate, because the stats show that most do.</p>
<p>Interesting question, never thought about it! I know that several of the top players officially finished in December but I don’t know about those who didn’t…</p>
<p>Arrangements are made. We know one of the WNBA players. She graduated, mainly getting work done early, on-line, etc. Some of the players are actually 5th year seniors having red shirted so they are done with their classes and are taking classes they don’t need, etc. I suppose it depends on the individual school how they handle these things though. Many of these top athletes are also top students and with preferential scheduling can get the classes they need, when they need them. Also, having just finished their college seasons, training camp isn’t as important for them because they are already in peak shape.</p>
<p>Being a UConn fan, I’m familiar with players getting drafted into the WNBA. Training camp hasn’t started yet. The top picks were probably brought into their new cities for press appearances, but not much more. It’s near the end of the semester at most colleges anyway and these players have worked out arrangements with professors all season to deal with absences and assignments, so this wouldn’t be much different once training camp starts. Their WNBA teams will allow them to participate in graduation ceremonies if the team’s schedule allows that.</p>
<p>I’m a Uconn fan as well. Many of them are able to take a light load this semester and finish by correspondence. They often return to school for the graduation ceremony. A lot of these players take summer classes in order to be able to practice year round, so they’re usually pretty close to their degree being finished anyway.</p>
<p>Some do not graduate until later, though or don’t graduate. I think Candice Wiggins was on the Stanford campus finishing up the fall after her first WNBA season. I remember Geno Auriemma telling Diana Taurasi (who never cared much about academics) that he would not allow her back to visit until she finished her degree…which she did. Also, they do often end up missing parts of training camp, although it’s very difficult to make a WNBA roster. Brittney Griner can miss most of training camp. Anyone outside of the the top three picks this year does not have a guaranteed roster spot and really needs to be there to prove themselves. I remember Tina Charles missing a few days of training camp to go to graduation, but if a third round pick tries to miss the whole thing to go to class, they’l probably get cut.</p>
<p>There is a rule for the WNBA that they are not eligible for the draft until they are graduating or until their college class is graduating. If you graduate early, you can get drafted, and if you’ve had four years in college you can get drafted. This is why we don’t see WNBA players leaving early like NBA players do, but they don’t need a degree to play if they’ve had four years of college. The rules are different for foreign players.</p>
<p>I should also mention that, although the draft has happened, WNBA training camp does not actually start until May 5. Many colleges will only have finals left at that point and players can do those in advance or return to campus for one final. The regular season begins May 24.</p>