Former Huskies Show It's Never Too Late To Earn Degree

[HooperScooper]

Interesting article about some former players (Mandeldove, Edwards, Armstrong, Hardnett) going back to get their degrees at UConn. A couple expressed remorse that their academic shortfalls put the program in the APR mess.

“It means so much to me to do this for them,” Mandeldove said, “because, and it’s sad to say this, what we also took away from the university. We were part of the one year where we didn’t meet the APR standards, so it’s gratifying, almost like winning a national champ to me, personally. It makes me smile inside and out to be part of something like this.”

“I felt that it would be a waste to have been given such an opportunity to receive a full scholarship and not complete the education to get a degree,” Edwards said. “I know that post high school education is always a major decision for people, because you take on a huge financial burden and I was given this gift, so I felt it was only right to complete it. I also felt bad for the guys that came in after me because I felt I had contributed to the low [APR] rating that got the program in trouble, so I wanted to correct that, although I know the damage was already done.”

Former Huskies Show It's Never Too Late To Earn Degree

 

[Leebo]

Edwards plays here in Japan, though I missed my chance to see him in my neck of the woods at the start of the season. If I can, I want to try to go see him though.

 

[Horatio]

Maturity does wonders. Great story.

 

[QDOG5]

I'm always surprised at the number of players who leave school without a degree. The resources available to these athletes are amazing. Also, they are on campus roughly 11 months a year meaning they can take classes over the summer too. I think it's a complete failure of the coaching staff when four year players leave without a degree. I realize most of us don't give a damn about the kids academically but the staffs should know most of the players aren't going to play professionally and should make sure the kids are progressing towards a degree not just "academically eligible".

 

[auror]

I'm always surprised at the number of players who leave school without a degree. The resources available to these athletes are amazing. Also, they are on campus roughly 11 months a year meaning they can take classes over the summer too. I think it's a complete failure of the coaching staff when four year players leave without a degree. I realize most of us don't give a damn about the kids academically but the staffs should know most of the players aren't going to play professionally and should make sure the kids are progressing towards a degree not just "academically eligible".

Imagine getting a bachelor degree while also working a 45 hour a week + own time overtime high pressure job. Might be tough to finish on time.

Plus the opportunity cost of the short peak earning career for professional basketball often means leaving a semester early and coming back later to finish.

 

[nomar]

I'm glad to read that. Not only are they owning up to what they did and the repercussions for the school and the younger players, but they finished their college educations.

Good for them.

 

[intlzncster]

Maturity does wonders. Great story.

We've got a lot of guys who've come back over the years. Taliek, Tony, Donyell, maybe even Ray, though I'm not sure on that one.

 

[boog204]

I'm always surprised at the number of players who leave school without a degree. The resources available to these athletes are amazing. Also, they are on campus roughly 11 months a year meaning they can take classes over the summer too. I think it's a complete failure of the coaching staff when four year players leave without a degree. I realize most of us don't give a damn about the kids academically but the staffs should know most of the players aren't going to play professionally and should make sure the kids are progressing towards a degree not just "academically eligible".

Seriously? I'm in education and if I was any of these guys I would bail after March to go play pro or work my off to play ball for a living. It's a no-brainer to me. To me, it would be a failure of the coaching staff if they kept them here in class and not push them towards any professional opportunity in basketball. You can always go back to school, your professional basketball time frame is extremely small.

 

[QDOG5]

Seriously? I'm in education and if I was any of these guys I would bail after March to go play pro or work my off to play ball for a living. It's a no-brainer to me. To me, it would be a failure of the coaching staff if they kept them here in class and not push them towards any professional opportunity in basketball. You can always go back to school, your professional basketball time frame is extremely small.

I am serious. The article states that the UConn mens bball program had as low as an 8 percent graduation rate in 2014. That is not a bunch of guys leaving a semester short. If Calhoun or his staff gave a rats behind about his players education the team never would have been put on probation. 900 APR is a pretty low bar.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

On top of the individual benefits, this positive development cannot be communicated enough by the Horde - including those reporters and papers still hybernating. It won't change the past, but it's such positive news. Congrats to all of the relatively recently new UConn graduates and alumni!

 

[BlueMAB]

I am serious. The article states that the UConn mens bball program had as low as an 8 percent graduation rate in 2014. That is not a bunch of guys leaving a semester short. If Calhoun or his staff gave a rats behind about his players education the team never would have been put on probation. 900 APR is a pretty low bar.

"The APR is calculated as follows:

• Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible.
• A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate.
• In addition to a team’s current-year APR, its rolling four-year APR is also used to determine accountability."

Academic Progress Rate Explained

We were put on probation for the APR rate. Players were transferring, and/or leaving early, and weren't academically eligible. You can be on track to graduate within 4-5 years (with summer session courses) and not be academically eligible. Depending on the credits, 2 Cs a B and an F gets you a 1.75 and you're ineligible, but that one class could be made up. For guys who are C students, all it takes is them blowing off an entire spring semester and that GPA can drop below 2.0. Leave that summer, and UConn gets hit both for the eligibility and possibly the transfer too.

The players were at least as responsible for their education as the coaches. While some guys would harm the APR, others graduated in 3 years AND went pro. It's unair to put all the blame on the staff, the players are accountable too.

Both the players and staff should have done better, but to your point about not leaving with a degree: a player leaving early, while academically eligible and on track to graduate in 4-5 years (the national average is around 6) to pursue a career isn't inherently a poor decision. Transferring isn't inherently a poor decision. UConn's problem was a combination of transfers who just stopped trying, with a staff who didn't stay on top of them.

Yes, the graduation rate was poor, but when the national average to graduate is 6 years, and the public university average is 5 years, it's not all that surprising that UConn would "graduate" players who have used their 4 years of eligibility, but are still 1 semester or 1 year (or more) short. I'm not excusing it, it's an embarrassing stat. But while the traditional student doesn't have a lot of the same support, they may not have the same time constraints, they also have the added incentive/burden of financing their education which tends to motivate them to finish sooner. These guys are going to school for free to play basketball, it's obvious too many of them didn't take the education seriously. And UConn didn't do enough to keep them on track. I don't find it surprising, just disappointing.