OT: Some college athletes play like adults, read like 5th-graders

[sportsart]

The article starts with UNC, of course. I thought this part was appropriate with FSU as national champs.

Kadence Otto, who once taught at Florida State University, recalled one situation where an academic support tutor would call every week to check up on a starting player.

"I would say, 'He's not doing well. He can't read and write.' And (the tutor) said, 'Well, we'll see what we can do,'" Otto said. That stopped with a career-ending injury. "He's worth nothing to the team, and I never once heard back from the academic support adviser. He never showed up to class again, either."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/us/ncaa-athletes-reading-scores/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[CAHUSKY]

UCONN was one of the 37 schools they requested information from. I wonder if that will come out at some point?

 

[sportsart]

UCONN was one of the 37 schools they requested information from. I wonder if that will come out at some point?

Shhhh.....

 

[upstater]

The article starts with UNC, of course. I thought this part was appropriate with FSU as national champs.

Kadence Otto, who once taught at Florida State University, recalled one situation where an academic support tutor would call every week to check up on a starting player.

"I would say, 'He's not doing well. He can't read and write.' And (the tutor) said, 'Well, we'll see what we can do,'" Otto said. That stopped with a career-ending injury. "He's worth nothing to the team, and I never once heard back from the academic support adviser. He never showed up to class again, either."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/us/ncaa-athletes-reading-scores/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

The crazy thing is that even professors have no idea what the NCAA is measuring. They have no idea what the athletics budgets are or the parameters guiding athlete academics. People on this website know more than the professors. I know this from firsthand experience. There is a wide cleave between the academic side and the athletics department, and I think this is intentional on the part of the Presidents and administrators. They don't want faculty too close.

So the professor in that article worries that athletes are being pushed through to graduation at the university of Georgia. He doesn't even realize that the NCAAs graduate student rate is as bogus as its APR. Take USF, for instance. Last year their GSR was 88%. Actual graduation rate? 0%.

The professor thinks these students are actually being pushed through to graduation fraudulently. He believes the tutors are somehow graduating them. It boggles my mind that he could even imagine such a thing happening in any major at the university. He doesn't realize that the very high graduation rate is cooked.

 

[huskymedic]

UCONN was one of the 37 schools they requested information from. I wonder if that will come out at some point?

Well, it sure won't be in 20 minutes (there is a hyperlink jump to another page that lists the schools by logo w/ comments):

"[x] CLOSE
University of Connecticut
A spokesperson for Connecticut says the university is still working on the request from CNN. University officials could offer no timeline on when it might have a response."

 

[Colt house75]

The article starts with UNC, of course. I thought this part was appropriate with FSU as national champs.

Kadence Otto, who once taught at Florida State University, recalled one situation where an academic support tutor would call every week to check up on a starting player.

"I would say, 'He's not doing well. He can't read and write.' And (the tutor) said, 'Well, we'll see what we can do,'" Otto said. That stopped with a career-ending injury. "He's worth nothing to the team, and I never once heard back from the academic support adviser. He never showed up to class again, either."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/us/ncaa-athletes-reading-scores/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Let's hope this doesn't go away soon!!!!!!
Time for everyone to put their big boy pants on because ...No one should be burying their head in this...

It sucks, plain and simple
Several more points...
1).... some of the very schools cited in the survey are actively promoting paying players a stipend... and in the long run deepen their own pockets at whose expense????
2).....How about the hypocritical travesty of the NCAA cramming the APR post season suspension on us while the above Bulls****** takes place...who is really controlling the NCAA????
As an alum, admire the lead taken by Herbst and Manuel in the academic responsibility area. It shows across the board with:
3).....and have to admire the approach KO has taken regarding player responsibilities in the classroom (pushing up the grad and APR rate) and on the court!!!
4).....Admire HCBD hiring Jones away from ND to oversee player development off the field in addition to running backs. He helped push the ND grad rate near 97 to 99%.

 

[upstater]

Let's hope this doesn't go away soon!!!!!!
Time for everyone to put their big boy pants on because ...No one should be burying their head in this...

It sucks, plain and simple
Several more points...
1).... some of the very schools cited in the survey are actively promoting paying players a stipend... and in the long run deepen their own pockets at whose expense????
2).....How about the hypocritical travesty of the NCAA cramming the APR post season suspension on us while the above Bulls* takes place...who is really controlling the NCAA????
As an alum, admire the lead taken by Herbst and Manuel in the academic responsibility area. It shows across the board with:
3).....and have to admire the approach KO has taken regarding player responsibilities in the classroom (pushing up the grad and APR rate) and on the court!!!
4).....Admire HCBD hiring Jones away from ND to oversee player development off the field in addition to running backs. He helped push the ND grad rate near 97 to 99%.

1. Schools don't profit, only the coaches do. Schools lose money on the deal.
2 and 3. If #2 is a travesty, then how can you credit KO for #3? If the APR is a joke, then fulfilling the requirements of the APR should not be considered an accomplishment.
4. Is that GSR or actual graduation rate? Because the GSR is not a measurement of graduates.

 

[freescooter]

This is the ugly little secret that pops up every 10 years or so. But unless and until somebody actually establishes some kind of standards that mean something and that are high enough. Currently a student with a 2.5 high school GPA only needs a combined Math and reading SAT score of 820. Under the new "tougher" standards going into effect in 2016 that doesn't change. When the average SAT Scores of incoming UConn freshmen are approaching 1250, it is pretty clear that an athlete coming in that far behind will struggle to keep up in many cases.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Don't expect anyone to really care or address this anytime soon. Too many people making big big bucks.

 

[Jax Husky]

This is a tough one for me. I'll start off saying these schools owe it to the student athlete to do everything they can to help them grow, and that the kid should give effort (even if not achievement). That said, if Option A is to kick them to the curb; and Option B is to pass them through to a degree, I see more societal value in Option B. At least the kid can go out and have a better chance of contributing to society.

 

[upstater]

This is a tough one for me. I'll start off saying these schools owe it to the student athlete to do everything they can to help them grow, and that the kid should give effort (even if not achievement). That said, if Option A is to kick them to the curb; and Option B is to pass them through to a degree, I see more societal value in Option B. At least the kid can go out and have a better chance of contributing to society.

Option B further devalues degrees, which is a huge problem.

But, no one here has demonstrated that these kids get degrees. They don't. The NCAA's GSR metric is a total fraud. Kentucky's GSR is 100%. USF's GSR is 88% but their grad rate is 0%.

 

[Jax Husky]

Option B further devalues degrees, which is a huge problem.

On a very small scale. In a school that graduates 2500 students each year, having 20 or so less valuable degrees is not a huge deal. I guarantee there are numbers of non-athletes that, from their non-achievement post graduating, devalue the degree just as much. You are looking at this from the academic aspect. I am looking at the value to society as a whole.

But, no one here has demonstrated that these kids get degrees. They don't. The NCAA's GSR metric is a total fraud. Kentucky's GSR is 100%. USF's GSR is 88% but their grad rate is 0%

Yes, this is a travesty. If you are going to coast the kid through until their 4th year, you should make sure they get the degree.

 

[sportsart]

Option B further devalues degrees, which is a huge problem.

But, no one here has demonstrated that these kids get degrees. They don't. The NCAA's GSR metric is a total fraud. Kentucky's GSR is 100%. USF's GSR is 88% but their grad rate is 0%.

Grad rate of 0%? So no football player graduated? What does that mean?

 

[Colt house75]

This is a tough one for me. I'll start off saying these schools owe it to the student athlete to do everything they can to help them grow, and that the kid should give effort (even if not achievement). That said, if Option A is to kick them to the curb; and Option B is to pass them through to a degree, I see more societal value in Option B. At least the kid can go out and have a better chance of contributing to society.

Option B further devalues degrees, which is a huge problem.

But, no one here has demonstrated that these kids get degrees. They don't. The NCAA's GSR metric is a total fraud. Kentucky's GSR is 100%. USF's GSR is 88% but their grad rate is 0%.

Grad rate at 0% seems little low don't you think?
ND GSR at 99%. Graduation rate at 94%
UConn Women BB Graduation rate at 92%.

HERE is the NCAA take on the GSR:
http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2011-10-25/ncaa-grad-rates-hit-all-time-high

First, Really like Jax view on contribution to society.
Second, Up to institutions to establish value identity i.e. IVY LEAGUE, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, and I'd like to think UCONN.
Third: THIS IS GETTING WAY TO SERIOUS: GSR stands for GARDEN STATE ROLLERGIRLS

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Does the 4 and 6 year graduation rates of 22 and 51% of the general student body at UL devalue the degrees earned by the students within the AD?

 

[Waquoit]

Don't expect anyone to really care or address this anytime soon. Too many people making big big bucks.

What's the issue that needs addressing? Some students not meeting the usual overall criteria are accepted to colleges due to reasons other than academic merit? Stop the presses!

 

[upstater]

Grad rate at 0% seems little low don't you think?
ND GSR at 99%. Graduation rate at 94%
UConn Women BB Graduation rate at 92%.

I can't see how you can get lower than 0%, but that's USF's number from last year.
GSR for USF last year: 88%.

ND is an outlier.

The vast majority of schools (off the top of my head, I'll say 90%) have actual graduation rates that are 50-75% lower than their GSR. USF's gaming of the system is an eye-opener. Most schools are not that bad. But the vast majority have actual graduation at roughly half the rate of the GSR. This is because transfers and players who leave for the pros do not count toward the GSR. The only people who seem to count are those who fail out and those who somehow went through 4 years at a school and then didn't take their degree.

 

[upstater]

Grad rate of 0%? So no football player graduated? What does that mean?

It means no one graduated. This was the men's basketball number.

 

[upstater]

Does the 4 and 6 year graduation rates of 22 and 51% of the general student body at UL devalue the degrees earned by the students within the AD?

Are you comparing the GSR to the student body or the real graduation rate? Because the real 6 year rate for men's basketball is currently 36% for 6 years though it has been as low as 22%. Football is at 48%. I'm assuming the rate for athletes in general is much higher because they have full rides whereas a school that draws from the local community as Louisville does has a lot of students who fall behind because of full-time work and difficulty paying.

 

[upstater]

On a very small scale. In a school that graduates 2500 students each year, having 20 or so less valuable degrees is not a huge deal. I guarantee there are numbers of non-athletes that, from their non-achievement post graduating, devalue the degree just as much. You are looking at this from the academic aspect. I am looking at the value to society as a whole.



Yes, this is a travesty. If you are going to coast the kid through until their 4th year, you should make sure they get the degree.

It will devalue the degree. At many schools, athletes are a significant proportion of the population.

I can't see how kids are graduating at all under the new APR rules that encourage returning to school and fluff courses. This is why the GSR was needed. Because under the new rules, schools can give the appearance of rigor, but if the final outcome of graduation is measured by federal grad rates, then the APR would appear to be a failure. And this is why the GSR was invented. You needed an equally phony measure to give APR a semblance of validity.