Tia Wineinger, accounting junior, has a lot on her plate this year.

Not only is she a full-time student, but she is also on the women’s basketball team and has a part-time job.

Wineinger, who is a forward on the women’s basketball team, said even with her busy schedule, she is managing to balance it all out.

“I study whenever I can,” Wineinger said. “Most of the time my life is just school, basketball and work. You have to maintain good grades to play, so that is a top priority.”

According to IUS policy, junior athletes must not only be enrolled full-time to play sports, but must also be passing all of their classes.

Wineinger said the hardest thing about being a student-athlete is keeping up the grades.

“We study on the bus on the way to and from away games,” Wineinger said. “I study as soon as I get home from classes. It’s hard with how busy we are, but we manage to get it done.”

Last year, she played as power forward, and this year she said she is in between what her coach calls a three and four position. This means she will play both small forward and power forward.

Wineinger said for the most part the team gets along and has fun together. She said one of her favorite things about being on the team is the perks.

“When we have away games, a lot of the time we get to stay in hotels, which is nice,” Wineinger said. “We also get a lot of free stuff, like food and clothing [the IUS sweats and hoodies are provided to athletes].”

Although the away games are fun, she said she prefers the home games.

“One, your friends and family can come watch the game,” Wineinger said. “Also, at a home game you can go straight home afterward and study if you need to.”

She also said she tends to get more nervous during home games, depending on who the team is playing and how many people are in attendance.

Wineinger, who is here partially because of a basketball scholarship, said during her senior year at Dubois High School, she wasn’t even sure if the scholarship would be available.

“I tore my ACL that year, so I didn’t know if IUS would still want me, but luckily I recovered and I am able to play,” Wineinger said.

Since her hometown is about an hour away, Wineinger said she lives off campus with three other girls, all of whom were or are current athletes.

When she’s not on the court, Wineinger can be found in class or at her job at Meijer, where she works anywhere from eight to 24 hours per week.

Wineinger said after graduation she wants to move back to her hometown of Dubois, Ind. There, she hopes to get a job in a payroll department, or get her Certified Public Accountant qualifications.

By LINDSAY VEITZ
Staff Writer
lkveitz@ius.edu