Ann Arbor series on academics

And I think you're wrong. I think it undermines the integrity of the university. There is no reason guys like O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love and Michael Beasley should be anywhere close to a college campus.

 

I think it's a shame that your "intelligence" has led to this conclusion. I feel sorry for some of these guys who were given a free pass to a degree and all they really know how to do is work in carpentry while talking about the glory days of playing at Michigan.

 

Uh, bit of a difference. Those top students are likely set for life doing what it is they do best out in the real world. Most top college athletes, on the other hand, will not find much success as pro athletes after college. So it's in their best interests to get some sort of education, lest they end up playing semipro ball in Romania until their "career" ends at 30 and they find themselves with no marketable skills and thus no way to make a living.

 

What's wrong with carpentry? A lot of smart, hard-working individuals are carpenters.

 

The S&%# is about to hit the fan. How long will it take for the NCAA to land on the UM campus. Great job by the News, will have to read all the parts to the series, but it looks like there is a possibility of academic fraud.

 

That's their own problem. If they managed to spend four years at one of the great academic institutions in the nation (or even at a mid-level state college, for that matter), without soaking up enough knowledge to start some kind of a career, tough crap. At some point, toilet training is over.

 

I am not going to give up that fight.

If they are not gonna be student-athletes, then eliminate the big-time college game.

(I know we're not gonna convince each other, but that's a lecture Dad gave me in 1972, and I am hanging onto it).

At the very least, we are talking about colleges with serious ethical issues.

 

They keep bad company, though


Count me as those very interested to see the rest of this series. I'd like to believe the UM people who vetted this class did so for the right reasons...

 

Maybe nobody would care, if the athletes and teams weren't being taught, funded and hosted by, um, universities.

People aren't doing athletes any favors by sliding them through. And they do themselves no favor by not graduating, either, even if it doesn't happen until after they've cashed in as pros in their sports.

It has been a while since I left college, but, as much as anyone may say it's not always necessary, or may minimize it as just "getting the piece of paper," graduating with a degree remains something I'm extremely proud and happy to have accomplished. And that was something I didn't fully realize or appreciate until years after doing it.

I'm guessing that, neither would the athletes.

It's about finishing something, and knowing that you've done so, to the best of your ability. There is value in the college experience, and the diploma, even if to no one else but that person.

But only if it truly has been earned.

 

True. And there is no reason the NBA should prevent them from earning a living at the age of 18.

 

Nope. It's a travesty.

 

I nearly threw up in my mouth when I saw the one person's comment on yesterday's story that said the Ann Arbor News should devote more time to Pioneer girls ice hockey. Yeeesh.