Well, the NCAA put out graduation rates today on their website. http://www.ncaasports.com/story/9105709 UT graduates a whopping 40% of their football players. That's even less than our friends in the 3rd Ward. So let me recap: UT is graduating 40% of their football players, in addition to their athletes brandishing guns and knives in downtown Austin. Wow.
bigtexx.. That is why I can't root for the majority of college teams. I would be very upset if my university ever let the numbers get like that. And no... The other 60% did not go to the NFL.... And no the transfer excuse isn't going to work because this data takes into account transfers
And I'm not trying to bash UT, this is the case at many schools.. And I call it ridiculous at all the schools that allow this to happen..
Vandy graduated an astounding 93% of their football players. That's even better than Rice's 89%. Excellent.
bigtexx... The fact that Rice graduates their athletes is why I root for them. I look forward to the football games that we have scheduled with Rice coming up in the future. A team where players on both sides will graduate... great concept.. I'm actually interested in a sports related job so I sat down with one of your associate athletic directors for lunch this past summer.. she went to vandy as well so was able to arrange it. You seem to have a well ran program with good people in place.
And yes I'm the only one that thinks that getting a degree is more important than winning a championship... Spending five years at a school, getting a championship... but not getting a degree is ridiculous.
This isn't about caring about the quality of football, it is about running a good program. Notre Dame is a good football team, they keep their rates high. I am most impressed with them.
I dunno, I don't care. It just disturbs me that people who attended a university don't care if the players they are rooting for.. actually are graduating. Charles Barkley was talking about this the other day.. these universities aren't educating the players.. all they care about is how they perform on the field..
No .. I see what you mean Rocket Fan. Its just that if youre a sports fan (which im assuming all of us are) it's a plus when youre attending a school who's good. Even when Im done with school ill have another team to follow.
bassfly.. I know, it is a hard thing to deal with. I want to win, but at the same time.. I'm not willing to go as far as not graduating any players. The whole point in rooting for a college team for me is because they are students.. if I want to see non students I'll watch the NFL.. We certainly haven't managed to win in football while keeping high standards. Although it has worked in other sports. This isn't just a UT problem, there are very few schools who have managed to maintain high grad rates and be good. Notre Dame has done a pretty good job, Stanford has had some success in the past, Northwestern has decent teams.. But for the most part it seems near impossible to win and graduate players. I just think it is sad because so many of these players will leave with no chance at nfl and no degree
I just think a coach can make his playes go to class and graduate. If you are there for 5 years you have plenty of time... If they want to play, make them attend class and I'm sure the grad rate will go up. If they go to class and study a little it shouldn't be that hard to get a degree in five years.
One last thing and then I'm done. The University of Texas is one of the top public schools in the nation. I would like to see them lead the way in being a school who holds their athletes to standards. It is a shame to waste a chance to get a degree from a school such as UT. And as a tax dollar funded school, they represent everyone in the state so I'd like to see them do it well.
I dunno .. I think you only say that cause your football team isnt worthy of your attention. If you had went to UT or whatever youd be right there with all of us trying to score rose bowl tickets. same goes for bigtexxx
I'm a little torn on the graduation rate argument. I can understand that some schools hold their students to a high academic expectation. I think that the athletes are drawn/repelled by these programs based on their own expectations and goals. For the athletes at Vanderbuilt, they see football as a way to get a top-notch degree. At Texas and other big time football schools, the athletes are students so they can have the opportunity to play football. What percentage of Texas players would attend college of any kind without a football scholarship? I would guess that it would be less than 40%. How many Vandy players would attend college w/out football? Maybe 93% or more. The fact is that after high school, the next step for most players is college football, whether they want to get a degree or not. Even the ones that don't have hopes for the NFL, still want to play at a high level for as long as possible. Many of these guys couldn't care less about a degree. Fortunately, there are some athletes that take advantage of their scholarships and work for their degree. These are success stories, but I don't necessarily look at non-graduates as stories of failure. What the athlete does with his opportunities is up to the individual, not the coach or the university. I was not a student athlete, but it took me 8 1/2 years to finally get my degree. There were times that I wanted it and there were times when I thought I could do without. I'm happy to have it and I'm proud, even though I don't use it currently. I think that many of us project our priorities on these players based on our own value system, but we must realize for many of these athletes, they get what they want out of their playing experience, and that may not be a degree.
I am not pleased with those numbers, but a part of the blame lies on the student athlete. Heck, the majority in my opinion. If you want to graduate, GO TO CLASS. Once you enter college you are a grown man and no one should have to force you to go to class. Congrats to Rice and Vandy for their student-athletes. My guess is most considering the pro route of athletics aren't going to Rice (well, in football and basketball).
while that number is disappointing, graduation rates are not accurate measures. they are a good measure to gauge one program vs. another, but that's about it. first of all its a four year measure, meaning if a kid sticks around after eligibility and gets a degree after 4 years it doesn't count. secondly, graduation rates for athletes are actually usually higher than the university as a whole.
They looked over a 6 year time horizon...That's why the data is from the entering classes of 1995-98. They also accounted for transfers in the data and those that left while still academically eligible (ie going pro). This is a brand new system they just implemented to track this for accurately. Not sure if graduation rates for athletes are higher than the university as a whole, but it's certainly not due to the lowest two performing sports, football and Men's basketball, which register at 54% and 44%, respectively. Those are pathetic rates by any measure. The womens' sports are what are keeping overall numbers in check. See the article.
Okay, where does it say six years. I saw the part about transfers. I'm not disagreeing, I'm just saying I don't see it.
