comes increased creativity in trying to get around the rules.
The Ann Arbor News reported today that between the fall of 2004 and the fall of 2007, a single professor at the University of Michigan taught 294 independent studies--85%of whom were student athletes. Some students "said that they earned three or four credits for meeting with him as little as 15 minutes every two weeks." Classy.
The story is part of a series on Michigan athletics. Check out more here: Link
North Carolina was the only school among the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men's tournament to graduate at least 50 percent of its players.
A report released Monday found 86 percent of Tar Heels men's players earned diplomas during a six-year period. The other top seeds were far worse: 45 percent at Kansas and 40 percent at UCLA and Memphis.
Few people are legally exploited as thoroughly as student-athletes at big-time schools. These kids bring in tens of millions of dollars to their universities but, other than the tiny fraction who are able to go pro, many come away with nothing to show for it. A good number of them simply aren't equipped to succeed at an academically rigorous four-year college, and since they're athletes first and students second, there's little incentive for their schools to make sure they graduate.
The inevitable rejoinder to all this is "Yeah, but they're given free room, board, and education!" Big deal. The cost of all that is a drop in the bucket compared to how much money a big basketball or football program brings in. If you're going to give a kid a scholarship but do nothing to make sure he comes away with a degree, you're not doing him a favor at all.
There are exceptions to this, of course. Since I grew up near Boston College and rooted for the Eagles, I should give a shout out to BC, which consistently ranks near the top when it comes to graduation rates for its student-athletes.
Every year, Derrick Z. Jackson, a Boston Globe columnist, compiles graduation rates for college football programs and takes a look at any racial disparities therein. Check it out.
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The Ann Arbor News reported today that between the fall of 2004 and the fall of 2007, a single professor at the University of Michigan taught 294 independent studies--85%of whom were student athletes. Some students "said that they earned three or four credits for meeting with him as little as 15 minutes every two weeks." Classy.
The story is part of a series on Michigan athletics. Check out more here: Link