Bench Bracket - Low Grad rates will drop schools out of March Madness

[thetorch]

From TIME magazine http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109146,00.html#ixzz1pWhnzzMS

Fans of the university of Connecticut men's basketball team, please note: if this is the last March Madness for your Huskies for a while, you'll be wishing Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hadn't grown up dribbling on the streets of Chicago. The NCAA passed a rule in October requiring teams to essentially be on track to graduate 50% of their players or lose eligibility for postseason play. Because of UConn's especially low academic progress rate, a complex NCAA metric of more than just graduation stats, the defending national champions aren't invited to next year's big dance.

Duncan, a former hoopster from Harvard, has been pushing for such an incentive system: No books, no ball. He used his bully pulpit to urge university presidents to pass the 50% standard within a matter of months. That's warp speed for the NCAA. "It was so personal," says Duncan, who remembers Chicago college basketball legends who didn't earn degrees and struggled after their playing days. "This was so clear, so fixable, that the fact that it hadn't happened was infuriating to me."

As the wildly popular NCAA men's basketball tournament tips off again, fans might have to start paying more attention to the academic performance of the teams in their brackets. The 50% rule will be fully phased in over the next four years. UConn's record isn't the only academic air ball. Others need to shape up too. If the new standard had been in play this season, schools like Syracuse, Indiana and Florida State would have been benched. "The fact that universities that aren't taking the academic side of this seriously will now be prohibited from playing--that sends a hell of a strong message," says Duncan.

Will the rule really make schoolwork a priority in big-time college sports? "As an academic, I don't see a 50% graduation rate as successful," says Jason Lanter, a psychology professor at Pennsylvania's Kutztown University and the president of the Drake Group, a college-sports-reform organization. (Players who turn pro while in good academic standing don't count as having dropped out.) And no metric can measure the quality and rigor of the academic training an athlete receives.

"Saying someone graduated is different from saying that someone got equal access to an education," says Richard Southall, a University of North Carolina sports-administration professor, who notes that players on the most successful NCAA tournament teams can miss two to three weeks of class time.

Duncan is not enamored with the 50% mark. "Frankly, 50% is a low bar," he says. "But at least it's a starting point. Over time, it should be ratcheted up." And maybe players' grades will deliver more March cheers

List of team who would be ineligible for the NCAA tourney this year if new academic regulations had been phased in this year -

UConn

Indiana

New Mexico St.

Colorado

SLU

Colorado St.

Norfolk St.

Syracuse

Southern Miss

Florida St.

St. Bonaventure

Ohio

[AMDG]

how is SLU on this list? I would have never guessed that. who is not on track?

[AlumniFan]

I would like to see this reconciled with the reality of the academic accomplishments of this team. How many other schools have a team with two players finishing four years (no redshirt) with MBAs? How many teams have academic all-Americans? I started to type more, but I will refrain.

[UpperdeckKid]

how is SLU on this list? I would have never guessed that. who is not on track?

All on the train but KM

[AlumniFan]

how is SLU on this list? I would have never guessed that. who is not on track?

I think it is from PRIOR players, not current players. We have had quite a few kids leave that obviously are NOT on the current team.

[mrslu]

I think it is from PRIOR players, not current players. We have had quite a few kids leave that obviously are NOT on the current team.

I'm curious to know how this is calculated. This must include guys who wash out and are in poor academic standing, like Wille. It looks like even grad-student types like we have are equalized by dropouts/flunkouts. I guess the message is to be careful who you recruit.

[kmbilliken]

Will we be ineligible next year?

[billiken_roy]

I'm curious to know how this is calculated. This must include guys who wash out and are in poor academic standing, like Wille. It looks like even grad-student types like we have are equalized by dropouts/flunkouts. I guess the message is to be careful who you recruit.

as i've detailed before, it is not uncommon for basketball players to fall a credit or two short after the spring semester. most times they easily make it up over the summer. however if a player leaves the program to go elsewhere prior to getting caught up, the cutoff for academic progress is immediate and charged against the billikens. our apr is a result of a lot of players leaving slu over the last few seasons. the revolving door needs to stop and then likely the apr starts going up.

[kmbilliken]

as i've detailed before, it is not uncommon for basketball players to fall a credit or two short after the spring semester. most times they easily make it up over the summer. however if a player leaves the program to go elsewhere prior to getting caught up, the cutoff for academic progress is immediate and charged against the billikens. our apr is a result of a lot of players leaving slu over the last few seasons. the revolving door needs to stop and then likely the apr starts going up.

Seems like the key is to get them all in summer school before their freshmen year to get them ahead of the curve.

[billiken_roy]

Seems like the key is to get them all in summer school before their freshmen year to get them ahead of the curve.

it is the rare billiken freshmen in recent year that doesnt come to summer school. that obviously hasnt solved the problem.

[WestCoastBilliken]

We haven't had anyone leave the team on bad terms except WR and a couple of people when RM first came here right?

[slu72]

Please tell us why KY is not on this list. They graduate no one. This year 3 frosh that are going to the NBA. Last year 2 or 3. Previous year 4 or so. Cripes they should be banned for the rest of their existence as a non universtity. I want someone to tell me why KY can get away w/o graduating just about anyone, ok Jorts made it thru his SR year, but not many others. This APR is BS. At least the guys RM cut went on to other schools. Sorry, I still don't get it.

[JettFlight5]

it is the rare billiken freshmen in recent year that doesnt come to summer school. that obviously hasnt solved the problem.

You seem to know the APR system. Do college credit courses taken during high school count towards the credit requirement?

[For-DaLove]

Please tell us why KY is not on this list. They graduate no one. This year 3 frosh that are going to the NBA. Last year 2 or 3. Previous year 4 or so. Cripes they should be banned for the rest of their existence as a non universtity. I want someone to tell me why KY can get away w/o graduating just about anyone, ok Jorts made it thru his SR year, but not many others. This APR is BS. At least the guys RM cut went on to other schools. Sorry, I still don't get it.

Flawed system. BUT it is the system. It's more being on pace to graduate than actually graduating. I guarantee all of those 1 year players for Kentucky pass all of their classes. Thus, when they leave for the NBA, it has no negative impact on the APR.

[slu72]

Well, maybe they should listen to Booby Knight. He knows what's going on with J. Calipari, who's playing the system like a violin. Forget this one semester deal and just let 'em go pro. KY's victory last night was not fair. They looked like a friggin NBA team.

[mrslu]

as i've detailed before, it is not uncommon for basketball players to fall a credit or two short after the spring semester. most times they easily make it up over the summer. however if a player leaves the program to go elsewhere prior to getting caught up, the cutoff for academic progress is immediate and charged against the billikens. our apr is a result of a lot of players leaving slu over the last few seasons. the revolving door needs to stop and then likely the apr starts going up.

Thanks for the info. How does a player/team get into the position a being short? I thought they needed to be taking at least 12 hours to be eligible, but admit that I don't know how it works. With the tutors and whatnot, you'd think it wouldn't be that hard.

[waldo027]

Which players were not on track to graduate when they left the program? Tommie Liddell, Willie Reed, Justin Jordan, who else?

[AMDG]

its seems wrong to me to include players that aren't on your roster, punishing players that have nothing to do with the problem. what is the reason for this?

[Duff Man]

What about Jeff Reid?

Didn't Majerus mention something about Barry Eberhardt when specifically addressing APR earlier this year?

its seems wrong to me to include players that aren't on your roster, punishing players that have nothing to do with the problem. what is the reason for this?

The latest numbers were released in May 2011 and only go through the 2009-10 season.

http://web1.ncaa.org/maps/aprRelease.jsp

Anyone know if Willie gets included in the 2010-11 calculation? I would hope not, but he was on basketball scholarship at the start of the academic year.

[JMM28]

My understanding is the Eberhardt just needs to pay his $ to get the hold on his account released.

Brett Thompson was flunking wasn't he?

Tommie is finishing up now right?

Ruben Cotto? Justin Jordan? Jon Smith? Not sure how far back we go. The ones that hurt are the BE and TL's that stayed 4 years and didn't finish up.

[mrslu]

My understanding is the Eberhardt just needs to pay his $ to get the hold on his account released.

Brett Thompson was flunking wasn't he?

Tommie is finishing up now right?

Ruben Cotto? Justin Jordan? Jon Smith? Not sure how far back we go. The ones that hurt are the BE and TL's that stayed 4 years and didn't finish up.

As I recall Thompson did have problems with grades and may have been ineligible for the first semester if he had returned. Can anyone confirm?

[kshoe]

Which players were not on track to graduate when they left the program? Tommie Liddell, Willie Reed, Justin Jordan, who else?

Ruben Cotto, Brett Thompson, Jon Smith, Anthony Mitchell, etc. are all candidates. Basically anybody that left the program in the last 4 years could hurt the APR.

The APR is BS for a bunch of reasons (not the least of which it really doesn't measure graduation rates) but as others point out, it is the rules we have to live by. The real problem, is the NCAA for the longest time said if your rating drops below 925 you can lose a scholly or two, but nothing more than that. Then, they go and re-write the rules last summer and say 930 or higher or no NCAA tourney. They are giving teams a little slack time to get in in line but the APR is a 4 year average and it doesn't appear they are giving 4 years to do so. There is also a 2 year average that will likely save SLU from any punishment. Uconn was essentially legislated out of a potential appearance in 2013 and has never been given the opportunity to get their act in order.

The good news for SLU is that while our long term average isn't good, the most painful year was 2007-08 and that will roll of the average soon. With transfers slowing down materially we should be OK going forward.

[mrslu]

Ruben Cotto, Brett Thompson, Jon Smith, Anthony Mitchell, etc. are all candidates. Basically anybody that left the program in the last 4 years could hurt the APR.

The APR is BS for a bunch of reasons (not the least of which it really doesn't measure graduation rates) but as others point out, it is the rules we have to live by. The real problem, is the NCAA for the longest time said if your rating drops below 925 you can lose a scholly or two, but nothing more than that. Then, they go and re-write the rules last summer and say 930 or higher or no NCAA tourney. They are giving teams a little slack time to get in in line but the APR is a 4 year average and it doesn't appear they are giving 4 years to do so. There is also a 2 year average that will likely save SLU from any punishment. Uconn was essentially legislated out of a potential appearance in 2013 and has never been given the opportunity to get their act in order.

The good news for SLU is that while our long term average isn't good, the most painful year was 2007-08 and that will roll of the average soon. With transfers slowing down materially we should be OK going forward.

If we're to believe the list, there are only 12 out of 300 or so D1 schools that would have had a problem under the revised rules. So 95+% of the teams are fine. With the slack time to get things together virtually every team has the opportunity to qualify. As I understand it, I'm not feeling too sorry for UConn.

I agree with what some othes have posted regarding players who finish early and are in grad school. If you're going to ding a school for having a dropout who doesn't finish, you should reward the schools who have players ahead of the curve.

[ARon]

I saw a link to 4-year rolling average APR scores as of 2010-2011 just last week and of course now I can't find it.

At the time I looked at the A10 and SLU was only maybe 5 points away from "passing" the standard. So I would hope we would move back into the safe zone this year. The only A10 team that looked to be in real trouble was St Bonnie who had a score closer to UConn than passing.

[billiken_roy]

You seem to know the APR system. Do college credit courses taken during high school count towards the credit requirement?

that is up to slu to accept High school honors classes and such. i know slu had an english class they made available to high school honor programs to take however it also carried a hefty fee. that class was more expensive by itself than the rest of my daughter's senior high school academic expenses. typically slu requires a pretty high AP test level to accept the course in lieu of physically taking the class. you have to remember, slu can never put themselves in a position where they are accepting less for an athlete vs a regular student. the ncaa would crucify them for anything less.