…[M]ost basketball coaches, including KU’s Bill Self, are opposed to the new NCAA policy [ranking coaches on the basis of the academic progress of their players]. The coaches claim they are being singled out in the grade matter when there are many other factors in determining an individual’s or a team’s academic record. Such factors include faculty, tutors and others on campus who play a role in how a student athlete does in the classroom.
Those favoring the policy point out, however, that having their APR records publicized will make coaches more likely to pay attention to the type of young men they recruit and to the academic abilities of those being recruited.
It is surprising Penn State President Graham Spanier disagrees or questions the NCAA policy, saying the coaches ratings “could have a modest influence.” He added, “realistically, wins and losses weigh most heavily on a coach’s reputation.”
This coming from the president of one of this nation’s major universities. Spanier’s position on this matter lays bare any belief that university presidents and chancellors honestly believe the football and basketball players at their schools really are “student athletes.”
Chancellors and presidents talk a good game, acknowledging the need to rein in the almost runaway spending on Division I collegiate athletics and contending their athletes are students first, not athletes taking customized class loads to advance academically and remain eligible to play.
These pompous university executives want to win on the football field and basketball courts just as much as their alumni do and they want a coach who can deliver wins, full stadiums and fieldhouses and post-season contests. The classroom grades of the players are not as important as their grades on the football fields and basketball courts….
Lawrence Journal-World
January 24th, 2009 at 8:15AM
"The coaches claim they are being singled out in the grade matter when there are many other factors in determining an individual’s or a team’s academic record"…reminds me of the attitude of many K-12 teachers, who claim that *they* should not be held accountable for student learning because it is so heavily influenced by parents, media, "society," etc..
January 24th, 2009 at 11:42AM
I’d have thought Veblen would have chipped in about his favorite university president by now…
Actually Penn State’s graduation statistics look pretty good right now, both those for the students and the athletes. And at least their football coach – I believe he is a lawyer – has made serious donations to the, believe it or not, Library!
January 24th, 2009 at 2:49PM
Bonzo, I don’t want to disappoint you, so here’s my two cents worth.
Penn State’s athletic department is in pretty good shape. It is self-sustaining and the graduation rate is isn’t bad. This has been true historically and the credit goes to Joe Paterno. Paterno is the athletic department, in fact some might say he is the University, and he won’t allow a coach to be hired in any sport who doesn’t care about his players’ education. But at 82 his time is running short and Spanier may be the one to replace him.
Spanier’s comment bothers me because it suggests that he won’t give much weight to a coach’s commitment to a players’ education should he have to replace Paterno.
Yes, Paterno did donate a substantial bit for a new wing for the library which is named after him. He is also a big fan of Virgil and a supporter of the Classics department at Penn State. He is not a lawyer. After graduating from Brown, he decided to take some time off before law school to work as an assistant coach at Penn State under Rip Engle. He never made to law school.
January 24th, 2009 at 4:19PM
Thanks, Veblen.
Especially for the part about Paterno not being a lawyer…
Spanier should be so fortunate as to get another coach like Paterno.