Bloomberg News On UNC Academic / Athletic Scandal

Really surprised that this has not blown up into a national news story.
Imagine if this happened at The U. Sarah Ganim needs to get on the case.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-27/in-fake-classes-scandal-unc-fails-its-athletes-whistle-blower#p1

UNC has lead a charmed life so far in tamping this story down.

 

It's overshadowed because they've been on such a tear on the basketball court. Certainly the hottest team in the ACC and playing the best ball in the conference now. Maybe in the country.

 

Agreed.

 

I think it's a bit of a 3rd rail story with potential for major blowback
which may be a reason it's not become a national story.


Stories like this make you realize that it's probably better for all invoiced
if players leave early. If a player leaves after his freshman year you don't have to
worry about his grades.

You do have to wonder though how some of these kids even got
the required SAT / ACT scores to even be eligible.

 

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

#1 University of California—​Berkeley Berkeley, CA
#2 University of California—​Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
#2 University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA
#4 University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
#5 University of North Carolina—​Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC

The bolded ones have had scandals and/or major questions recently about not just whether athletes fit in at the school, but whether the athletes are even functionally literate.

 

The football team should try to unionize at UNC. Unlike Northwestern, UNC won't be able to claim that football is a part of education when the kids are taking fake classes.

 

There's nothing new in the Businesweek story that hasn't already been in the N&O, except perhaps Jim Dean's backing off a little on his assertions about Mary Willingham. But it obviously pushes it to a wider audience.

There are apparently some legitimate questions to be answered about whether her conclusions are sound from the data she studied. But the university's handling of this whole thing has been horrifically bad. I'm particularly disgusted by the attack on Willingham. Whether her conclusions are sound or not, she is raising the alarm about students she worked directly with for a long time and she has a good basis for asserting that a significant number of those athletes simply were not equipped to survive at UNC. And she is a person who has dedicated her career to helping that particular subset of athletes succeed in academics.

I've earned multiple degrees from UNC, and I find this whole thing incredibly disheartening. I would rather UNC not have sports than have a sham department set up to keep revenue sport athletes eligible. I don't think I'm alone among alumni with that sentiment, although I'm not monied enough for it to matter.

 

Why do you think that the story has not gained more national traction until now?

Interesting that article mentions that Peter Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg is
a UNC graduate. Wonder if he pushed for the story.

 

I think it's because the story has taken so long to unfold. The whole thing started in 2010 and there was a lot of national coverage then, but once the NCAA decided not to sanction for the academic side of things it was only the local media still digging - mostly the N&O and mostly Dane Kane at the N&O. Major revelations have come out since the NCAA took a pass, but they came in dribs and drabs, and after protracted records lawsuits, which the university keeps losing but also keeps forcing.

I don't understand why the NCAA accepted UNC's explanation of the academic side of the scandal as one that didnt involve athletics and so there was no punishment to be meted out. The only thing I can figure is that it was scared to bring the hammer on one of its golden geese. If you accept that the scandal is related to athletics than there is nothing to do but level major sanctions and vacate the 2005 and 2009 basketball titles.

The idea that it was purely academic because a few non-football and non-basketball players ended up in these sham classes is ludicrous, but that's the story UNC sold and the NCAA bought. So because a couple of frat boys caught wind of the easy classes and managed to get registered for them before the athletics advising staff filled 'em up with ball players, the university escapes sanction.

 

Solid theories. Also think that since it involves The African American Study Dept there is
a bit of a 3rd rail element to it that national news organizations don't want to
touch.

 

UVa had a well-publicized cheating scandal that went against the heart and spirit of its honor code.

 

With athletes? I thought that was the broader student body.

But OK, it's four of five. Anyone have anything on UCLA?