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And the most bootleg college athletics program is ...

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by dixiehack, Aug 15, 2015.

  1. dixiehack

    dixiehack Well-Known Member

    While double-checking football schedules for our sub-NAIA dregs of society today, I ran across an institute I had never heard of before: the University of God's Chosen.

    Naturally I did a Google search, went to the home page and the fun started pouring out of the clown car:

    • It's a WordPress blog.
    • The banner logo across the whole thing reads University of Gods Chosen, which sounds more like Greek mythology fanfic.
    • The entirety of the front page reads: We are the University of God’s Chosen (UGC), a non-profit university dedicated to using sports to build relationships in multiple cultural settings. Our university encourages our student athletes to study and develop themselves academically as well as athletically. We train individuals to develop opportunities through academics and athletics as well as to share the goodness of the Lord and provide relief. At UGC we are changing the world through books and sports.
    • The archives of the blog have one entry, from April 2015 - "UGC will be and is a blessing for a bunch of individuals!"
    • The "about" page notes that it "was established on July 24, 2104." It goes on to talk about Jesus and sports in roughly equal measures. What it doesn't mention are academics or where this joint is located.
    • The "contact" page still doesn't say where it is located, although it gives a phone number with a Charlotte area code. Otherwise just a web form.
    • The mission statement has its own page. "The mission of the University of God’s Chosen is to enhance the physical, emotional, and spiritual development of individuals, of all ages, through communication, competition, teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play." Not listed: learning anything.
    • The football schedule lists nine games, none of them in North Carolina.
    • The "academics" page is the grand prize winner.
    Our goal is to improve our students academically and provide them the opportunity to play sports at the collegiate level. Students of UGC are required to be enrolled in an accredited online college to earn credits towards a degree. They will also be enrolled in UGC’s Biblical Studies degree program. We suggest that you enroll in one of your states community colleges that offer online degree programs. This option is less expensive and you can still get the same credits towards a degree that can be transferred to a Division I or II university.

    Listed below is one of the colleges that we suggest that you think about enrolling in.

    Guilford Technical Community College

    University of God’s Chosen is in no way affiliated with the above college. This is a suggested college to use for your accredited courses.
    • And of course, this sham outfit is mooching off the taxpayers. From midway down the "apply now" page: Universities that are recipients of federal dollars are required by the Federal government to solicit certain demographic information to meet federal reporting requirements. Applications are requested to provide the following information voluntarily. This information will not be utilized in a discriminatory manner.
     
  2. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Still cleaner than Oregon.
     
    jpetrie18 likes this.
  3. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    This sounds like the UNC African Studies program.
     
  4. JohnHammond

    JohnHammond Well-Known Member

    What type of federal money is this school getting? Not federal student aid.
     
  5. franticscribe

    franticscribe Well-Known Member

    So the North Carolina connection piqued my interest enough to look into it a tiny bit. Looks like it's a spinoff of the super-well known College of Faith from Arkansas, which also has a North Carolina campus. And other than the name, they don't make much pretense about actually being an educational institution. It's basically a sports ministry.

    Found this fascinating article on College of Faith, which mentions UGC: How to start a college sports team through the power of religion
     
    spikechiquet likes this.
  6. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Art Briles is hoping to schedule them for the Baylor 2016 opener.
     
  7. dixiehack

    dixiehack Well-Known Member

    From frantic's article:

    With athletics so unprofitable, he’s laying the groundwork for a more promising revenue generator through College of Faith: a faith-based trucking program.
     
  8. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    The University of Allah Akbar is worried they're about to be put on probation.
     
  9. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Get in line behind the SEC teams, Mr. Johnny-Come-Lately.
     
  10. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Early rumor says Cleveland State got it instead. Trying to confirm.
     
    Killick likes this.
  11. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    So much sham going on...it's hard to keep track.
     
    Blitz likes this.
  12. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Oh, CoF will keep their November free for the annual Pre-Thanksgiving Cupcake Day in the SEC.
     
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