USF Takes Control Of Athlete Academics

[KB]

http://www.bus.ucf.edu/sport/public/downloads/2007-2008_NCAA_Bowl_Study_Attachment_Table.xls

This is a spreadsheet from UCiF business school.  Wow, UCiF and especially their black student athletes have a big deficit compared to USF.  I don't think getting input from a UCiF clown was the most appropriate input Mr. Reporter  >

Graduation Success Rates (GSR) for football student Athletes:

USF 61%

Memphis 59% and Houston 49% - schools quoted in the article that Provost Wilcox helped reform (great job)

UCF 46%

Alabama 49%

Graduation Success Rates (GSR) for African American football student Athletes:

USF 59%

Memphis 47% and Houston 46% - schools quoted in the article that Provost Wilcox helped reform

UCF 40%

Alabama 41%

[redfisher78]

I'm proud of USF for doing this. All part of the growing process. We have been getting better recruits but it's time to starts getting more overall quality recruits. I think its great they are on top of this before anything gets out of hand, and looking at our current graduation rates compared to other schools we are doing great. Maybe this will help our penalty problems down the road. I think I have been saying for a few years that we need to get smarter overall as a football team with all of our stupid penatlies

[KB]

I'm proud of USF for doing this. All part of the growing process. We have been getting better recruits but it's time to starts getting more overall quality recruits. I think its great they are on top of this before anything gets out of hand, and looking at our current graduation rates compared to other schools we are doing great. Maybe this will help our penalty problems down the road. I think I have been saying for a few years that we need to get smarter overall as a football team with all of our stupid penatlies

I agree, don't get me wrong.

But the timing is suspect, the placement in the paper is suspect, but we have nothing to be ashamed of.  We gave some student athletes a chance to prove themselves, and according to our graduation rates we are still doing better than a lot of other schools, while giving those opportunties to kids.

Go Bulls.

[Guest]

Eleven of 18 new football players at USF last summer and fall, or 61 percent, were admitted as an exception to the state university system's admission standards, according to university records.

Was Saban right after all??

Shame on you Jim  ??? Satan is and always will be a complete asshat.

Oh, he's still an asshat.  But even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then...

I just remember he said something like USF has players who could not get in to Alabama... that may or may not be true, and probably isn't true... but if more than half of USF's class last year could not get into college, I can see at least some part of what he was saying.

Now, the fact that all of these players are still at USF and are not suffering because of grades shows you quite a lot about USF.  The commitment that athletics places on the STUDENT part of student athlete.  The resources made available to student athletes to help them not only remain eligible, but progress toward a degree.

Sanjay is right... Football was the key that opened the door to college for a lot of players... the fact that most of them get a degree should be applauded.  These guys work hard on and off the field.

[Paisa el Toro]

I'm glad that we are taking steps to shore up how academics impacts athletics. This is as it should be. However, of note, USF is doing this sua sponte without having responded to sanctions. This is a premptive attempt to clean out any improprieties before they could potentially turn into something bigger. I applaud administration for this.

[hbryan]

A good reporter would have included those numbers above concerning GSR and probably would have selected one of the more successful programs in Florida like UF, Miami, FSU and determined how their student athletes are getting scholarships.  If we now end up at a disadvantage compared to these programs, I say that this is a media induced witch hunt that may end up costing us a coach.  We need to compare how we are currently doing it compared to SEC/ACC schools and schools within our own conference -- not UCiF who can't graduate their athletes.  I say it is a piss poor article that is all negative with respect to the football program's academic standards and has no good BCS comparison.

You others can say what you will.  That is my opinion and I'm sticking by it.  >

[smazza]

Eleven of 18 new football players at USF last summer and fall, or 61 percent, were admitted as an exception to the state university system's admission standards, according to university records.

Was Saban right after all??

and it shows on the field with all the dumb penalties over and over

[Henry Jones Jr.]

Once again Bret is taking a stab at a coach and a program that left him out in the cold after he made up stories the entire summer of 06 (05?). Football players are allowed into programs as revenue generators as long as the make the ncaa min. for almost every school. Where was Bretts humanitarian article on Tim Tebow getting like a 750 on the SAT or however low that moron got?

[smazza]

And yeah, right before signing day, great timing USF. Things like this could force CJL to go elsewhere if the right job comes along.

Why are you blaming USF?  The Trib held this story until today.  The emails they reported date back to August.

It's not like USF held a presser yesterday to announce the changes.

leavitt aint leaving with the $$$$$$$$$$ usf is paying him

he will stay and do what he is told for that kind of money or he could leave

[smazza]

Once again Bret is taking a stab at a coach and a program that left him out in the cold after he made up stories the entire summer of 06 (05?). Football players are allowed into programs as revenue generators as long as the make the ncaa min. for almost every school. Where was Bretts humanitarian article on Tim Tebow getting like a 750 on the SAT or however low that moron got?

this is a usf problem

not a bret  problem