FSU suspends over 1/4 of FB team for cheating

[Beach Runner]

It's not just FSU where athletes get special treatment. At another university with which I'm very familiar, the athletes get to register before all other students (including seniors), so they get to take the easiest classes and get to pick the professors who are the easiest and who are athlete-friendly. They also have special tutors. Even worse, for core classes that everyone has to take (like calculus), the professors give out two versions of the test -- a "management" version and an "engineering" version. The "management" version is given to athletes and is easier, and the "engineering " version is given to everyone else. One of my daughter's roommates said that someone in her class who was not an athlete raised his hand and asked the professor, "I'm a management major. Can you give me the management version?" The professor said no.

 

[ShallowsNole]

Again, may I point out that Daddy-O, love him like we do, is quoting such fine media outlets as the Orlando Slantinel. And I'll bet that Mike Biatchi wrote that too.

As embarrassing as this all is, I'm just glad we could amuse the gader nation for a little while.

 

[ShallowsNole]

They also have special tutors.

And therein lies the root of this whole mess.

 

[Kurt]

Tutors are not the problem. I am not amused. As a graduate of the State University System I am embarrassed.

There are a lot of national media focusing on this story and many of them are not as kind as the Florida outlets.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/12/26/cfb.bag.122607/index.html

Not only has Florida State's program dramatically eroded on the field over the past seven years, but it is currently embroiled in one of the most blatant academic-fraud scandals in recent memory, one for which it will almost certainly endure significant NCAA sanctions. I don't think it's a stretch to say that almost any other head coach in the country, amidst those pair of circumstances, would be out of a job by now. Bowden, on the other hand, just got a raise.

 

[ShallowsNole]

Tutors are not the problem. I am not amused. As a graduate of the State University System I am embarrassed.

So you disagree with the FACT that this particular scandal is rooted around the administration of one online class by one tutor/proctor, who was employed in the Office of Academic Support, and possibly some of her immediate staff?

And how in the HELL was Bowden, or Martin, or Hamilton, or the ladies' hoops coach (whose name escapes me right now), or any of the coaches, supposed to know about this before one of the athletes came forward? I don't think the coaches sit in on classes...and I also don't think they control the significant number of non-athletes who took advantage of a way to make an easy grade.

The truth is, none of us really know yet what is involved. My info comes from several high-ranking boosters and employees within FSU. And from what I hear, there are currently 900 students thought to be affected. Of which, only 36 are on the football team.

And maybe I am really, really sensitive about this, because we are supposed to have a freakin' academic honor code. And because I love Florida State University.

 

[NoHall]

What a bizarre ray of sunshine...

As someone who didn't go to Florida or Florida State (or any other university with a football team, for that matter!) it gives me great hope to see everyone so passionately upset about academics for a change. It's hard for me to get excited about athletics at any school when the academic integrity has been going down the toilet for so long. Maybe this will have a good upshot?

 

[scooterbug44]

What a bunch of horse hooey!

Of course coaches and administrators know what is going on - the typical university makes the 2 degrees of 30-A seem disconnected and uninformed. They look the other way or pretend they don't see it because college sports are about $$$. Alumni don't give the big donations for academic achievement, which is why college are constantly "shocked" by cheating scandals and many football and basketball players graduate with degrees in golf - if they get degrees at all!

How many people can say they/their kids have athletes in their classes? There ARE schools who have athletes who graduate with engineering degrees and whose SAT scores are in the 4 digits, but the out-of-control celebrity athlete machine makes them rare.

 

[Beach Runner]

Yes, I don't mean to make it seem that all athletes are dummies. Hubby got an 800 on his math SAT and math SAT II and almost got his verbal up to 800, too. He had a full academic scholarship to an Ivy League school, but played basketball at Tulane and ended up with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UF. But what I hate is when athletes who have really low SATs get special privileges over really competent students -- so not fair.