Bryce McNeal redeux

[Jimmy Serrano]

The only two exapmles I can think of where a kid transferred into a graduate program of a BCS level football school was Paulus transferring from Duke. I am sure Paulus had a decent GPA and the fact that it was a Duke to 'Cuse transfer made it a no brainer admissions-wise. The other was Wilson transferring from NC State to Wisconsin. As stated previously Wilson had something like a 3.76 GPA so grades were not an issue. Grad vs. Undergrad admissions just can't be thought of as being the same playing field.

I'm not saying they're not different. But how many times is this scenario actually going to play out? Once every 10 years, if that? We had a chance to get a former 4 star WR (if that means anything to you) who was good enough to see the field at Clemson and we can't make an exception for him to get into grad school? Mind boggling. If this were to happen every year I can understand the school having to draw the line. But once in a blue moon? Get the kid into school.

 

[Srqhusky]

I'm not saying they're not different. But how many times is this scenario actually going to play out? Once every 10 years, if that? We had a chance to get a former 4 star WR (if that means anything to you) who was good enough to see the field at Clemson and we can't make an exception for him to get into grad school? Mind boggling. If this were to happen every year I can understand the school having to draw the line. But once in a blue moon? Get the kid into school.

do we the university of Connecticut want to become like the university of Miami. I am proud when that when a uconn player is interviewed they represent our school well

 

[businesslawyer]

do we the university of Connecticut want to become like the university of Miami. I am proud when that when a uconn player is interviewed they represent our school well

Well, we have pretty good evidence that the kid is capable of being a college graduate. Like -- I don't know -- that he already is one.

 

[Srqhusky]

Well, we have pretty good evidence that the kid is capable of being a college graduate. Like -- I don't know -- that he already is one.

I should have been clearer my point was that where do we draw the line. If we lower to allow a 2.4 in do we allow a 2.0 in. I mean what's the lowest gpa we can graduate with. Do I think McNeal is a good kid. Yes. A degree from Clemson means a lot. It's not like he went to west virginia.

 

[businesslawyer]

I should have been clearer my point was that where do we draw the line. If we lower to allow a 2.4 in do we allow a 2.0 in. I mean what's the lowest gpa we can graduate with. Do I think McNeal is a good kid. Yes. A degree from Clemson means a lot. It's not like he went to west virginia.

No one here can intelligently discuss the specifics of this case, because we don't know them. All people can note is that for the second time in two years issues with getting young men into our grad schools has cost us a player who can help us.

 

[Srqhusky]

No one here can intelligently discuss the specifics of this case, because we don't know them. All people can note is that for the second time in two years issues with getting young men into our grad schools has cost us a player who can help us.

agreed!!

 

[junglehusky]

Dan -- simple question. In your experience, do people with college degrees go back to college to get their GPAs up? Because I can honestly tell you I don't know of a single one. And, thus, even if a theoreticaI possibility, don't see it as changing the discussion about UConn's admissions in any way.

That's all. Have a good day. We are agreeing about more than we're disagreeing about.

Different situation, and not applicable in this case, but it's not uncommon for college grads to do a year or two of "post-bac" before applying to medical school to demonstrate academic ability in fields that might have been lacking in their undergrad degree (i.e. chemistry, biology, etc.). I don't think it changes their undergrad GPA but it provides an opportunity to demonstrate improvement.

 

[mets1090]

The issue of a football player transferring here to take non-degree courses to improve his GPA is a non-issue because doing that would likely force him to sit out a year. He was only going to get a waiver if he enrolled in a grad program that Clemson did not offer. Coming and taking non-degree courses would not satisfy that.

And we should not be bending the GPA requirement for a grad program by 0.6 to allow athletes in my opinion. That's really an enormous drop off. Going from average a B in each class to averaging slightly better than a C+ is a ridiculous difference. And those B students are the bottom of the barrel in grad programs at UConn. No disrespect meant to them because a 3.0 is entirely respectable, but this is a research institution and I think it is important to realize how good of a student you need to be to deserve a Masters Degree from UConn.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

do we the university of Connecticut want to become like the university of Miami. I am proud when that when a uconn player is interviewed they represent our school well

I think, among other things, that this statement is just a tad over dramatic.

 

[pj]

do we the university of Connecticut want to become like the university of Miami.

Becoming like the University of Michigan would be acceptable. I wonder if they've ever lost a football player to grad student admissions.

 

[UConnRock]

I'm not saying they're not different. But how many times is this scenario actually going to play out? Once every 10 years, if that? We had a chance to get a former 4 star WR (if that means anything to you) who was good enough to see the field at Clemson and we can't make an exception for him to get into grad school? Mind boggling. If this were to happen every year I can understand the school having to draw the line. But once in a blue moon? Get the kid into school.

Of course getting the best players possible into a UConn uniform means something to me, I wouldn't be hanging out on this board if that were not the case. However, I just don't think you can berate the grad school admissions folks for this. Many seem to be looking at this situation in a bubble. Like McNeal's grad school application just showed up last week. McNeal and the staff obviously knew approximately what his GPA was going to be well before his studies were completed as the last couple of grades during the summer do not have a drastic impact on GPA. Admissions likely told all involved that it was still possible to get in, but they need to see other results (GRE, interviews, recommendations ect..). Maybe they were waiting in GRE scores to see if there could be more "flexibility".

There is a reason he chose Louisville among the many schools that he could attend. Hell the kid is from Minnesota. Ya don't think he would want to play back home or in the B1G. Ya don't think Minnesota, Indiana, Purdue or other B1G teams could use a proven reciever. The bottom line is he was probably told "no way" when approaching their grad school admissions.

 

[mets1090]

Becoming like the University of Michigan would be acceptable. I wonder if they've ever lost a football player to grad student admissions.

I would guess yes. I would guess most respectable schools with athletics programs have.

What you don't hear about is the amount of players that reached out to programs only to be told they can't be accepted with their grades and it never goes public. As said above, I'm sure McNeal reached out to other programs before us and Ville and was told no.

 

[UConnDan97]

No one here can intelligently discuss the specifics of this case, because we don't know them. All people can note is that for the second time in two years issues with getting young men into our grad schools has cost us a player who can help us.

Please stop with the Robbie Frey stuff, for the 80th time! He was accepted into UConn and chose not to go. Unless of course you are referring to a different player, in which case, I will apologize in advance...

 

[mets1090]

Please stop with the Robbie Frey stuff, for the 80th time! He was accepted into UConn and chose not to go. Unless of course you are referring to a different player, in which case, I will apologize in advance...

Didn't it turn out that he was accepted but saw that his future was not in football so he chose to get his degree in PA for reasons involving getting his teaching certificate?

 

[UConnDan97]

Didn't it turn out that he was accepted but saw that his future was not in football so he chose to get his degree in PA for reasons involving getting his teaching certificate?

Yes, sort of. He saw that he could get his degree in 18 months instead of 2+ years at UConn. Also, his fiancee was in PA at the time, and not CT:

http://articles.courant.com/2011-02...ch-edsall-kelmetrus-wylie-jonathan-jean-louis

"At Kutztown, Frey will be able to graduate in 18 months and be certified to teach high school social studies in Pennsylvania. At UConn, it would have taken two years or longer. He also got engaged last summer, though he insisted that wasn't a factor in his move."

The funny thing is that this is perhaps the sixth time that I have had to link this article on the Boneyard in the last month, pretty much all pertaining to the McNeal case, and it keeps getting brought up. Not sure how many more times I'll have to, so I'll save it on my harddrive...

 

[UConnDan97]

As it turns out, Robbie may in fact be able to make a career out of football anyways:

http://www.tnonline.com/2012/apr/30/frey-ryan-sign-nfl

I wish him a lot of luck. Once a Husky, always a Husky...

 

[Marty Jackson]

Yes, bizlaw is right. Every school makes exceptions. I was at Harvard and professors were instructed that kids of mega-rich donors could not be given a failing grade. A university doesn't lose respect because one bad student out of thousands gets a degree; it gains a ton of respect by having money and a successful athletics program. It's for the good of the university to let top athletes in and let them maintain academic standing and get a degree with much more lenient standards than other students.

That said, a line has to be drawn somewhere and I don't think any of us can comment with complete confidence on any individual case.

And how exactly has that strategy helped shape your perception of the SEC academically?
Apparently Boise has backed out of the BE and is headed to the Ivy League...

 

[huskymedic]

Difference -- I've seen McNeal play college football. I am not relying on stars given to him in high school.

Arguing about whether it should be as easy to get a kid into grad school as undergrad is fine, but we don't need to denegrate the kid's abilities in doing so. He started at Clemson for a while. He played on TV. And people have seen him play at the college level.

McNeal - Career Rushing/Receiving Stats
Year Team G Rush Yds Yd/Rush TDs Rec Yds Yd/Rec TDs
2010 Clem 12 4 7 1.8 0 19 187 9.8 0
2011 Clem 1 0 0 - 0 1 8 8.0 0
Career 13 4 7 1.8 0 20 195 9.8 0

Career Returning Stats
Year Team G Punt Returns Yds Avg TDs Kick Returns Yds Avg TDs
2010 Clem 12 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 - 0
Career 13 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 - 0

 

[pepband99]

As it turns out, Robbie may in fact be able to make a career out of football anyways:

http://www.tnonline.com/2012/apr/30/frey-ryan-sign-nfl

I wish him a lot of luck. Once a Husky, always a Husky...

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/2012/08/falcons-waive-rookie-rb-robbie-frey/

He was waived 4th August

 

[UConnDan97]

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/2012/08/falcons-waive-rookie-rb-robbie-frey/

He was waived 4th August

Crap. I was hoping he could make a career out of it. Hopefully he can find another team to sign with...

 

[Dann]

If RF doesn't make it in the nfl, i would love to see him get on our staff or another in time...