Franklin Field isn't the only place where Penn's athletes are being watched.
A few blocks north, the Admissions Office does some checking up of its own via a numerical measure called the Academic Index.
The index - "a combination of testing scores and performance in high school," according to Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson - is calculated for recruits across the entire Ivy League. It's meant to "ensure that athletes are representative of the entering class," Stetson said.
And if athletes' scores don't stack up, they're not coming to Penn, no matter how good their curveball is.
Calculated on a scaled grading system, it factors in class rank and standardized exams, like the SAT and SAT II, to determine whether athletes applying to a university are eligible for acceptance and gives a prediction on how they will perform over the course of their academic careers. Stetson would not say what scores applicants needed to get in to Penn, but it is generally used to prove that recruited athletes are qualified for Ivy League schools.
Once they are accepted, athletes must keep a minimum GPA of 2.0 and take at least eight courses each year to stay eligible for NCAA athletics.
But because the predictive index is only used for athletes, some say that this type of grade-prediction widens the gap between athletes and the rest of the student body.
"I think it is unfair that it is only used for athletes" said College freshman Matt Schaefer, who is on the Penn football team.
"It is discriminating," he added.
Other team players said that utilizing the index exacerbates existing stigmas against athletes.
College freshman Nicole Aaronson - who was recruited to play softball but decided to quit this fall - noted that the index may reaffirm the idea that "athletes cannot get into Penn on their own," and therefore need an additional measuring stick to assess academic potential.
But officials say that the high school-based estimate should be taken with a grain of salt.
Stetson said that it is pretty telling for academic performance over freshman year, but "lots of things change" later on, when it holds less weight.
Whether the index signifies anything will always remain a mystery to the carefully watched athletes, who do not have access to their score.
Still, according to the athletes' coaches, the measure seems to be doing its job.
"It's a good idea . because it helps admissions gauge how the athletes will be as students," said women's lacrosse coach Karin Brower.
Other coaches praised the index's no-monkey-business component.
It helps guarantee that schools aren't bringing in ineligible students or doing inappropriate things, said women's basketball coach Patrick Knapp.
Athletes must also take at least one and a half courses per semester and earn a bachelor's degree upon graduation, according to the Penn Athletics Academic Policy.
In addition, the NCAA has its own string of requirements that Penn athletes must fulfill in order to be eligible to play on a sports team.
"We tell all the kids playing for us that you have to have priorities, and the first priority has to be school," said men's lacrosse coach Brian Voelker.
Each team offers its players academic advising and tutoring sessions, as well as mandatory study halls for freshmen.
"It's good to put a lot of effort into [sports], but if you're not going to be put effort into schoolwork, then the effort won't matter," Voelker added.
