Jim Harbaugh Was Right

Yes, I know he's a UM alum. Stay with me, here.

A disclaimer, for those who have been living under a rock.

I am a fan of The Ohio State University Buckeyes, particularly the football squadron.

As such, I find all things related to the University of Michigan Wolverine football program repulsive. They are inherently evil, and must be resisted at all costs.

Luckily, we've had that under control for a while now.

However, I have always been candid that I have the utmost of respect for UM academically. They are a prestigious program, and are highly ranked nationally. Which is why I was so discouraged by their recent head coaching hire (both process and person)- This is one area where they shouldn't compromise. Yes, it does sting to have Mich1gAAn fans brag about their academic prowess (since they have none on the field), but given that this is the purpose of college I can live with that.

Well, I could- until this week. The Ann Arbor News has started a four part series about some of the academic cough gymnastics that exist around the Slightly Smaller House to allow student athletes to be mostly athlete athletes.

Part one outlined how a large number (45 or so) student athletes had independent studies from one particular professor; averaging nearly a full GPA point higher in this class than in their other studies. The important coursework? Study skills, time management, etc. All of this labor took a whopping 15 minutes a week with the professor in question.

Part two talks about the majors that athletes (football players in particular) find themselves in: kinesiology, sports management, and that bastion of intellectual strenuousness: general studies.

Great quote from the editor:

For me, the stories present a sad scene - few people on campus are asking whether U-M athletes, especially those who are academically challenged, are getting a quality education.

Most administrators we interviewed tried to put the focus on university procedures and protocols instead of whether some courses are being used to move academically challenged athletes through the system in order to keep them eligible to play sports.

Other U-M officials, like (AD Bill) Martin and university President Mary Sue Coleman, declined repeated requests for interviews. After we were told for months that Coleman was too busy, she agreed to an interview if it was done through e-mails. We declined, believing that a face-to-face interview offered the best chance for frank discussion as well as the opportunity to ask follow-up questions.

At a university known for its research and collective intellectual curiosity, we found a lot of leaders were unwilling to look into the petri dish of the academic life of athletes. They were far more comfortable trying to polish the surface of academics and athletics rather than looking under it.

Again, I'm not saying that this doesn't happen elsewhere (although the lengths that folks are going to to explain or justify this is impressive). I fully believe that major college sports is a business, and more athlete than student athlete. In this Brian and I agree:

College football has conspired with the NFL to become the sole feeder system for an immensely lucrative industry. College football itself makes millions from the efforts of undercompensated individuals who would otherwise never attend college.

When I get to the end of the "series" I'm working on, I hope to have some suggestions on how to address this.

Until then, though, remember two things:
1) QB that last led tOSU to a national championship? 3.68 GPA in Molecular Genetics.
2) Jim Harbaugh was right:

“Michigan is a good school and I got a good education there,” he said, “but the athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they’re in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They’re adulated when they’re playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won’t hire them.”