Yes? No?

[southerncomfort]

Well I guess it was more of a way to ensure that these kids were really going to class but in my opinion, couldn't they just have signed in and walked back to their dorm or car or HT...you know what I mean? It doesn't sound foolproof either.

[Cadillac]

These athletes are just as smart as the other students. I didn't have anyone reminding me to go to class and making sure I did so. (Might have helped my GPA if I had...) These guys need to realize their responsibilities. Do they have to be reminded to go to practice?

But if you didn't show for class, was there anyone outside of your parents that would really care? I'll grant your point that they need to be accountable, but at the same time the school has so much invested in these guys, it just makes sense to have oversite.

-CoS

[Alaric]

Hold their hands, work with them, make sure they pick easy classes if they don't want to work hard but why go to all the trouble to get marginal students and not help them try to prevent flunking out?

I know an athlete who went to HP, is a stud in a "country club" sport at a major Texas university and has some major learning challenges. They provide tutors, advisors, etc and basically make sure he's eligible. They watch him closely. He has to make the grades but he's there primarily to play his sport and everyone's good with it. His parents are good with it. He's got a gift and it's not academics even though he's not a dumb guy. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS "MODEL" AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE SHOULD BE IF WE'RE GOING TO START ALLOWING MARGINAL STUDENTS IN (WHICH I SUPPORT). WE NEED AN ATHLETICS MAJOR, HOPEFULLY THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION.

[FWMustangGirl]

Hold their hands, work with them, make sure they pick easy classes if they don't want to work hard but why go to all the trouble to get marginal students and not help them try to prevent flunking out?

I know an athlete who went to HP, is a stud in a "country club" sport at a major Texas university and has some major learning challenges. They provide tutors, advisors, etc and basically make sure he's eligible. They watch him closely. He has to make the grades but he's there primarily to play his sport and everyone's good with it. His parents are good with it. He's got a gift and it's not academics even though he's not a dumb guy. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS "MODEL" AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE SHOULD BE IF WE'RE GOING TO START ALLOWING MARGINAL STUDENTS IN (WHICH I SUPPORT). WE NEED AN ATHLETICS MAJOR, HOPEFULLY THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION.

My problem is not with the kids who need help. If any of them have academic issues, they should be helped. My problem is with kids who may be too lazy to bother going to class.

[smu diamond m]

Hold their hands, work with them, make sure they pick easy classes if they don't want to work hard but why go to all the trouble to get marginal students and not help them try to prevent flunking out?

I know an athlete who went to HP, is a stud in a "country club" sport at a major Texas university and has some major learning challenges. They provide tutors, advisors, etc and basically make sure he's eligible. They watch him closely. He has to make the grades but he's there primarily to play his sport and everyone's good with it. His parents are good with it. He's got a gift and it's not academics even though he's not a dumb guy. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS "MODEL" AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE SHOULD BE IF WE'RE GOING TO START ALLOWING MARGINAL STUDENTS IN (WHICH I SUPPORT). WE NEED AN ATHLETICS MAJOR, HOPEFULLY THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION.

My problem is not with the kids who need help. If any of them have academic issues, they should be helped. My problem is with kids who may be too lazy to bother going to class.

I have witnessed in a class an Athletic dept. person check on student athletes' attendance. They just come in, look around. Scribble some stuff down and leave. It was frequent in the Anthro class I had with 15 or so football players.

[EastStang]

Under Fry the profs sent an attendance sheet to him if a player missed class or an assignment during the week. Of course that would mean more work for our overworked and underpaid educational staff these days. You have 250 student athletes all taking roughly 5 classes. The coaches could divide the labor of calling the profs to make sure their players are getting their work done. Doh has two assistants and 12 players. Not real hard to every week or two call the prof and find out how the kids are doing in class and whether they are skipping or not. JJ will have 7 assistants. Again, that's about 13 kids per assistant to track.
The problem for Givens is the interplay between the NCAA eligibility rules and the SMU academic rules. A non-athlete would have dropped the classes for the semester and come back the next semester without any penalty. An athlete cannot without becoming immediately ineligible and thus has to beg for incompletes which the deans are loath to allow the profs the leeway to grant anymore.

[bigdaddy08091]

My point is to address the issue while it is going on, not after the season. Ryan was failing while he was playing. He should not have been playing. No pass no play. No go to class no play. Givens was out of school for several days or weeks. There should have been some assistance from the athletic department to help him catch up on his grades. Not giving him grades or making it easier on him. They should have yanked his but off the practice field and put him in a room to catch up on his grades. He would not have missed a thing with the 1-11 season we had.

[expony18]

I know PB's first year he had the GA's go check to make sure players were in class.... I saw them a few times, but after the first semester, I never saw a coach check on us. and i missed plenty of classes, and never once had anything said to me...

[J.T.supporta]

its kind of obvious that this past year, no one did their job of making sure the players were in class.

[bigdaddy08091]

These athletes are just as smart as the other students. I didn't have anyone reminding me to go to class and making sure I did so. (Might have helped my GPA if I had...) These guys need to realize their responsibilities. Do they have to be reminded to go to practice?

But if you didn't show for class, was there anyone outside of your parents that would really care? I'll grant your point that they need to be accountable, but at the same time the school has so much invested in these guys, it just makes sense to have oversite.

-CoS

Apples and oranges Cadillac. We are talking about a team sport with 50 players and this one happens to be one of our starting DT's verses one student in the mix of several hundred. On top of that the faculty at this school could care less about the athletics. Some of them are probably sitting back laughing their heads off. You are correct in saying it is the athletes responsibility to take care of his business. Sometimes they don't and this is why we pay people good money to provide oversight.

[J.T.supporta]

These athletes are just as smart as the other students. I didn't have anyone reminding me to go to class and making sure I did so. (Might have helped my GPA if I had...) These guys need to realize their responsibilities. Do they have to be reminded to go to practice?

But if you didn't show for class, was there anyone outside of your parents that would really care? I'll grant your point that they need to be accountable, but at the same time the school has so much invested in these guys, it just makes sense to have oversite.

-CoS

Apples and oranges Cadillac. We are talking about a team sport with 50 players and this one happens to be one of our starting DT's verses one student in the mix of several hundred. On top of that the faculty at this school could care less about the athletics. Some of them are probably sitting back laughing their heads off. You are correct in saying it is the athletes responsibility to take care of his business. Sometimes they don't and this is why we pay people good money to provide oversight.

when a kid is too damn lazy to go to class, it doesnt matter if we pay people good money to provide oversight. all they do is check the classrooms, and then write down the names of the players who werent in class. they dont go off to find them.

[bigdaddy08091]

These athletes are just as smart as the other students. I didn't have anyone reminding me to go to class and making sure I did so. (Might have helped my GPA if I had...) These guys need to realize their responsibilities. Do they have to be reminded to go to practice?

But if you didn't show for class, was there anyone outside of your parents that would really care? I'll grant your point that they need to be accountable, but at the same time the school has so much invested in these guys, it just makes sense to have oversite.

-CoS

Apples and oranges Cadillac. We are talking about a team sport with 50 players and this one happens to be one of our starting DT's verses one student in the mix of several hundred. On top of that the faculty at this school could care less about the athletics. Some of them are probably sitting back laughing their heads off. You are correct in saying it is the athletes responsibility to take care of his business. Sometimes they don't and this is why we pay people good money to provide oversight.

when a kid is too damn lazy to go to class, it doesnt matter if we pay people good money to provide oversight. all they do is check the classrooms, and then write down the names of the players who werent in class. they dont go off to find them.

If I were one of the coaches I would go off and try to find them. When I did find them it would quickly be determined if he wanted to attend school here and play football for free. I would not wait until there was no turning back. You ever get a speeding ticket or anything of that matter? I guess you were to damn stupid not to know the speed limit. People make bad choices and young adults make more. Have a little latitude with these student athletes.

[J.T.supporta]

These athletes are just as smart as the other students. I didn't have anyone reminding me to go to class and making sure I did so. (Might have helped my GPA if I had...) These guys need to realize their responsibilities. Do they have to be reminded to go to practice?

But if you didn't show for class, was there anyone outside of your parents that would really care? I'll grant your point that they need to be accountable, but at the same time the school has so much invested in these guys, it just makes sense to have oversite.

-CoS

Apples and oranges Cadillac. We are talking about a team sport with 50 players and this one happens to be one of our starting DT's verses one student in the mix of several hundred. On top of that the faculty at this school could care less about the athletics. Some of them are probably sitting back laughing their heads off. You are correct in saying it is the athletes responsibility to take care of his business. Sometimes they don't and this is why we pay people good money to provide oversight.

when a kid is too damn lazy to go to class, it doesnt matter if we pay people good money to provide oversight. all they do is check the classrooms, and then write down the names of the players who werent in class. they dont go off to find them.

If I were one of the coaches I would go off and try to find them. When I did find them it would quickly be determined if he wanted to attend school here and play football for free. I would not wait until there was no turning back. You ever get a speeding ticket or anything of that matter? I guess you were to damn stupid not to know the speed limit. People make bad choices and young adults make more. Have a little latitude with these student athletes.

College Football is a PRIVLEGE, youre not guareenteed to play when you go to college, you EARN that right by making the grades in High School and continuing that into college.

Speeding and KNOWING YOU MUST GO TO CLASS are two totally different things. Some kids these days think they can get away with skipping class and just make grades. Leonard just made poor choices, like we all do. he'll learn from it big time

[southerncomfort]

That would be Leonards 3rd school in about a year...I sure hope one day he's going to learn!