If history is a precedent, Ohio State’s new president can be expected to continue an emphasis on student athletics.Deborah Yow, director of athletics at the University of Maryland, said President-elect William Kirwan viewed athletics as part of the whole university experience.”He sees athletics as part of the quality of life and cultural opportunities at the university,” she said.While at the University of Maryland, Kirwan frequently attended many sports events, including those which did not generate large revenue for the university, she said.Yow accredits Kirwan with helping to turn around the athletics program at the University of Maryland and said his involvement goes beyond budget concerns.In a report released by the NCAA in 1997, the University of Maryland led all Atlantic Coast Conference schools in graduation rates of student athletes, and was the only school in the ACC to graduate its student athletes at a higher rate than its student body.According to the 1997-1998 Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, the University of Maryland’s graduation rate for the student body is 61 percent, compared to OSU’s 55 percent.While at Maryland, Kirwan started a president’s club brunch to honor 600 top athletes, she said.Andy Geiger, director of athletics at OSU, expects Kirwan to be just as supportive of student athletes and the athletic department here at OSU.Geiger came to OSU in April of 1994, after spending three years with Kirwan at the University of Maryland.”My experience is that he is very interested in having the teams do well in the confines of the institution,” he said.”He wants us to be successful, but he knows we have work to do here, including increasing graduation rates,” Geiger said.Kirwan will take over management of a university with 34 varsity sports, 800 student athletes and a sports program with an annual budget of more than $36 million.The Washington Post contributed to this article.