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Juxtapose these lyrics with the "Candy Man" By Malamute, 1 May 2004
Thanks to last Thursday’s meeting in Indianapolis, when its Division I board of directors voted to approve the reforms, the governing body is about to punish teams with low graduation rates, along with teams whose student athletes perform perfunctorily in the classroom. For example, depending on a certain standard, the NCAA will be able to reduce the number of scholarships for teams with poor academic performance. Additionally, perennial March Madness contenders of the past could be wallflowers at the dance if their grade point averages don’t meet an acceptable level. Two sets of penalties, “contemporaneous” (the immediate loss of scholarships) and “historical” (a post-season ban for programs whose athletes have continually lagged in the classroom) will be invoked, in a system administered by the Committee on Academic Performance. Thursday’s vote established an “academic progress rate” that ensures athletes complete 20% of the class work for graduation each year. Teams will earn points for each athlete who remains eligible from one semester to the next. Graduations rates will also factor into the equation. The “cut rate,” a minimum acceptable score, will be enforced in the 2006/2007 school year. "This is landmark legislation," NCAA President Myles Brand said. "We will need to implement these and hold strong." Interim U Dub president Lee Huntsman called the changes “seismic shifts,” saying they will "change the calculus of how we recruit student-athletes." Mark Emmert, on the docket to becoming UW's new president this summer, called the legislation "a step in the right direction." Over the years, NCAA legislation has affected the success and failure of the University of Washington football team more than any other set of factors. The return to two-platoon football in 1965 was more than Jim Owens could handle and eventually led to his premature retirement. Conversely, scholarship reductions benefited Don James during the 80’s, helping him recruit against teams from California. In the 90’s, further reductions in scholarships brought parity to the Pac-10, allowing the Dawgs’ northwest cousins to join the New Year’s bash at Pasadena. This new legislation could be as dramatic in effect for Washington as any the NCAA has previously enacted. It will even the playing field for the Huskies, a field designed by former AD Barbara Hedges and implemented by former coaches Jim Lambright and Rick Neuheisel, both of whom sought athletes that would perform in the classroom as well as on the field -- meaning that, as of today, the talent pool from which Huskies draw players is more limited than those schools that dominate football rankings on a yearly basis. Seemingly, the Huskies won't take just any run-of-the mill, 4.3 second, 300-pound behemoth -- unless he has classroom potential. Certainly, Lambo's 30-years of loyalty to the UW "deserved better" than it got, especially considering his 16-point improvement in graduation rates made during his tenure as head coach. In his four years, Neu added 12 points to Lambo's rate, which had been accrued over six years. Behind every man's success is a woman, and Hedges knew the importance of the three R's as well as any AD. As the media remain silent, columnist Jim Moore (Seattle P-I) sings his lyrics to the tune of the Candy Man, his lyrics a satire on the "Feel Good" situation -- and on the local media, though he never intended them that way (see reference). All of Washington’s disappointing losses last season -- losses to Cal, Arizona, Nevada and UCLA -- came at the hands of teams with lower graduation rates. In particular, the rates for California, Arizona, and Nevada are appalling and should be an embarrassment to the institutions. According to the 2003 NCAA report on graduation rates for the student athlete, the University of Washington graduated 67% of its football players over the last reporting period, the second best in the Pac-10 next to Stanford's 82%. California, a 54-7 winner over Washington last season, graduated 44% of its football players over the same period of time. Over the last four reporting periods, Nevada, a surprise winner over the U Dub last season, graduated 39% of its football players, while Washington graduated 63% of its players. Arizona graduated 33% of its players in the last reporting period. Over the last four reporting periods, BCS title contenders, LSU and Oklahoma had football graduation rates of 40 and 33% respectively; the Miami Hurricanes, a quasi-farm team for the NFL, graduated 49% of its players. NCAA men's basketball champion Connecticut graduated just 27% of its players. In fact, one third of the 63 schools that make up the Bowl Championship Series fail to graduate at least 50 percent of their football players. Put in perspective, the overall student-athlete graduation rate is 62 percent (based on students entering in 1996 and graduating within a six-year time period) for Division I teams. Measures of success in graduating athletes and having success in the BCS or March Madness seem to be inversely proportional to one another. As the UW has increased its football graduation rates over the last 11 years, its success on the gridiron has slowly diminished, especially considering its match-ups against powerhouses with low graduation rates. For example, Washington opened last season with a 28-9 loss to defending national champion Ohio State, who graduated just 41% of its players over the last four reporting periods. Seemingly, UW is more interested in graduating football players than sending them to the professional ranks, Reggie Williams notwithstanding. UW opens its season against Fresno State in September. Unfortunately for the Huskies, the Bulldogs have a graduation rate of 33%. Based on our theory of inverse-proportionality, maybe Fresno State’s upset of UCLA (61% graduation rate) in the Silicon Valley Classic was to be expected last season. In 1993, UW had a graduation rate of 39%. Over the last decade that rate has increased by 28 points, which is a statistic of which fans and alumni can be proud. For the average student athlete, if there were a choice, winning in the classroom should be far more important than winning games on the playing field. Washington is well on its way to achieving whatever "cut rate" the NCAA hurls at its member institutions. You can take the facts, mention a few Reference: NCAA Graduation rates and Moore's lyrics to Candy Man. NCAA Graduation rates for 2003 Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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Since
the University of Washington installed field turf, the field is mostly level
now, with just the slightest rise in the middle for drainage. However, last
season, when the UW was matched against teams with low
football graduation rates, the playing field seemed mostly uneven.
Finally, the NCAA has approved some academic reforms that could change college
athletics for years to come.