Title IX

I just looked at the grad rates from the NCAA site. It claims that overall grad rate for student atheletes is 62%. However, when I added up the number it said actually graduated to the number of freshmen it was less than half. These were ony students who had received some type of atheletic aid. I looked at some schools. I expected that certain schools would do better, Ivy League, prestigeous sports schools, ect. Ivy League did do better. Prestigeous sport schools didn't necessarily. There were some schools I saw that did graduate everyone in certain sports (especially Florida schools on tennis). there were soem school who barely graduated any scholarship students. Overall, women did do better than men. There are more women in colleges, generally than there are men now. What a big change!!! The site is web1ncaa.org/app_data/instAggr2005/1_0pdf. The man who used to be Knox's AD, went back to the NCAA to head the division that determines if foreign students are pros or not.

Olympian rejects UNH award to protest athletic program cuts An excerpt.... Swimmer Jenny Thompson, America's most decorated Olympian, is rejecting a high honor from the University of New Hampshire to protest the school's decision to cut its men's swimming team. Thompson said she is turning down the Charles Holmes Pettee Medal, the highest honor given by UNH's Alumni Association. Thompson did not attend UNH. "I grew up in New Hampshire and was proud to be an Olympian from the state. The message from the largest university in the state is that it doesn't support Olympic sports, and I can't really accept an award from a university that does such a thing," she said Tuesday in a brief telephone interview.

Why do people assume that the basketball players and football players are stupid? Well around here it is highly published when a recruit cannot make the minimum score on the ACT, which is something like a 15 to get in. That is why. It is not as highly published when they graduate early with honors(although Dee did and so did Nick Smith). Also, a regular student with an ACT of 15 would not have a prayer of getting into Illinois, add 15 points to that and maybe. So again, let the basketball and football players in with their low scores, give them tons of help to get through, yep, makes me feel real sorry for the free ride they are getting to a quality school when many non-athletes cannot even get in, much less get the tutoring they get. And those regular students may not be spending all the time at the sport of football and have that stress. Instead, they are juggling school and a job because they cannot afford school unless they work. Nope, not gonna get me sorry for the basketball and football players who get free rides, sorry.

Can't read the article at the link. Assuming I correctly understand the facts, Jenny is exactly right and doing swimming a service. I'm not at all impressed by the self-serving, publicity-seeking stunt UNH tried to pull. "Hey, Jenny Thompson, you'd didn't go to school here; gosh, we even eliminated our swim team, but won't you please cosy up to us for the cameras so we can convey exactly the opposite impression and gravy-train off of your fame?" I'm glad she imformed them just how valuable their "honorary" degree is (seems to me they're trying to honor themselves most of all). Matt

Graduation rates are a joke for sports like football, basketball and baseball. Many players transfer to get more playing time at a smaller school, and many leave prior to graduation to play pro ball. The graduation rates for these sports are very skewed because of these two factors. Also, why do so many people believe that football and basketball players are stupid. While the standards are relaxed a lot at some schools, many schools still have strict requirements for getting into and staying in school. Also, playing football requires a ton of time and it is very hard to be a full time football player and make your grades. Yes, you have a lot of resources, but football players do not have it as easy as most would assume on this board. In fact, at many schools being a football player is MUCH harder than being a regular student or even playing another sport. The amount of time that football players spend training and watching film would suprise most if not all of you. Hook'em Blue

I never said you should feel sorry for them. I just thought it was rather ignorant to lump football and basketball players all into one category and hate on them? You obviously have no understanding of the fact that many football players do well in school and did well in school in HS despite the time demands put on them that are not put on the vast majority of most students. Heck, I know several football players that graduated in the top 7% of their classes at a couple of top universities in the nation. BTW, not all schools lower their standards and the ones that do often lower their standards for all sports. Also, you assume that the Univ. of Ill. only lowers the requirements for football and basketball players, yet I would be suprised if they do not lower the requirments for other sports. Assuming that all football players are stupid is devoid of reality. Why the hate and negative assumptions for football and basketball players? Where did that come from? As for regular students all having a job, that is funny. Don't get me wrong, some students have part time jobs for a little extra spending money, but to make the assertion that all regular students are working their fingers to the bone to put themselves through school is funny. There are a few that do, but not many when looking at percentages. Hook'em Blue

Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com Here at U of I, there is a real hidden profit from Football. One person (at least he used to) pays the salary of the football coach. I hope this hidden person got a money back guarantee.

Originally posted by aquageek I hope this hidden person got a money back guarantee. :D

Where are the 'feel goods' out there, talking about how important Title IX is, in creating an equal environment for men and women? I'd expect alittle Title IX support from our Canadien bretheren.

Originally posted by GoRedFoxes Where are the 'feel goods' out there, talking about how important Title IX is, in creating an equal environment for men and women? I'd expect alittle Title IX support from our Canadien bretheren. No one seems to be ragging Title IX . . . the debate seems to be over big sports/dumb jocks, etc. Nothing attacking the legislation. Moreover, the debate over preferred treatment/lowered academic abilities seems to focus on Div. I or II schools. I don't think that DIII schools (non-scholarship) have the same issues (though they face the same stereotypes) and it is the rare DIII program that has any revenue generation. But I digress from the query . . . That's my guess as to why there are no "feel goods" (which seems to be offered in the pejorative) jumping into the discussion . . .