Ann Arbor series on academics

No one ever got a date just because they wrote for the student paper or performed in on-campus productions of RENT.

As far as "things that are very important in college," I think Athletes are doing fine and don't need sympathy.

 

Needlenose Ned, Ned the Head,
I don't think the point of this series is to pick on the jock...judging by some of the comments below the stories, a lot of people seem to think that's the case, or that there's some evil motive to bring UM football down.
In part, it's to highlight the way in which UM touts academics as a top priority when it's really not, and how UM employees are helping to put school on the back burner, and cut corners.
If athletes have to spend so much time practicing, playing, traveling, etc, that the only way they can make the academic requirements is to take classes on how to study, fly through piece-of-cake independent studies course, and be shepherded into an easy major, it's time to rethink the status quo.
One of the most frequent comments is that this happens at every school. So what? That hardly makes it right. Hopefully this series can provoke some thoughtful conversation there and, perhaps, elsewhere.

 

you are probably correct....I do believe Michigans arrogant fan base is in denial...they probably are finally realizing that for them to be competitive they do have to be like everyone else...i think the hiring of Rodriguez and some of this expose will bring them to their senses....
unfortunatly for them,it does not seem to work in hoops

 

I have a close friend who is a huge Michigan fan. He's really excited that the series hasn't "really gotten" Michigan yet. I think he might be missing the point.
In other news, ESPN.com has no mention of the story and it has not appeared on SportsCenter. Any ideas why?

 

Mort hasn't broken it yet. Stay tuned.

 

There are plenty of schools that give athletes credit for playing sports just as much as there are for giving credit for academic pursuits. I received credit for the campus paper and radio station. The problem is, there are schools who ignore their own academic standards to get jocks into school. It's one thing to have a school with a minimum 1000 SAT requirement to let an athlete in with a 950. It's another thing to let a kid in who can't read.

Martin's got it right in that if an athlete has to spend so much time on his sport that he can't study properly, then he shouldn't be spending that much time on the sport. Frankly, I wish the NCAA would cut the total practice and meeting hours down to eight hours or so per week. If athletes want to train for the NFL or the Olympics, too bad, you're in school to go to school. Make coaches teach real classes, and spend less time looking at films. If the games don't look as aesthetically pleasing on TV, tough shit.

 

On day three now...

The Ann Arbor News definitely dominated their bigger rival papers on this one. While other papers are busy courting Terrelle Pryor, the News is doing real reporting and making interesting stories.

Again, well done.

 

Been reading the series also. Some good stuff, but mostly stuff I either already knew (being a 22-year Ann Arborite and former Newsie) or suspected.

But I do need to comment on the carpenter shot. Yea, I'm sure there are a handful of players who end up in manual labor, and that is their fault, not the university's. Those players didn't take advantage of the opportunity presented them, and it's their loss. But for every one of those guys, there are also doctors, lawyers and businessmen produced. Maybe not as many as in Bo's day (read Bo's book at see how some of these players are now CEOs of major corporations like Dominos Pizza), but some nonetheless.

 

Exactly. It's a hard cold world out there. If you want an education, get one.

 

The University of Michigan at Ann Auburn?

 

I always prefered to think of it as SUNY-Ann ARbor, but Ann Auburn works too.