More and more, student-athletes are getting used to meeting academic eligibility requirements in order to participate in sports. But what if poor academic performance could ban an entire athletic program from competing? North Carolina State Senator Charles Albertson would like to find out.

Albertson is sponsoring a bill that, if passed, would prohibit North Carolina high schools from participating in interscholastic athletic activities if more than 50 percent of their students score below the 50th percentile on year end tests for two or more consecutive years. "Some people call it tough love," says Albertson. "But I am convinced we have to think more about where we are lacking in academics. We need to change our efforts to educate our children."

A high school in Albertson's district that won a football state championship in 2007, but struggles academically, was part of the inspiration for the bill. "It seems that if a school, community, and parents can come together to produce a state championship football team, they can and should feel obligated to make sure that more than 50 percent of the students pass end-of-year tests," says Albertson.

Ben Robinson, Athletic Director at T.W. Andrews High School in High Point, which is one of 43 schools that would be affected if the bill was currently in place, opposes the idea. "If you take athletics away, that's more incentive for kids to not participate in school itself," he says. "And athletes are hardly ever the problem, academically. We would be punishing the wrong people in the wrong way."

So far, the proposal has generated a strong, mostly negative reaction, which is fine with Albertson. "My purpose is to try to raise awareness about the issue of academics," he says. "I figured sports would be a good place to get the conversation going, and it has been."