A&M responds to HBO interview

[kepdawg]

A&M responds to HBO interview

08:12 PM CDT on Wednesday, March 14, 2007

By RACHEL COHEN / The Dallas Morning News

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne acknowledged Wednesday that a lack of access to appealing majors affects many Aggies athletes, but said a new university studies major that will be added in the fall will help address the problem.

Byrne was responding to questions about former basketball star Antoine Wright’s assertion on the HBO show Costas Now that athletes are steered into the agricultural school so they can earn high enough grades to stay eligible for competition.

“In certain classes, you see a quarterback, me, a running back and then a farmer,” Wright said in an interview with sportscaster Bob Costas. “So, it definitely was a little bizarre. But we’re all in poultry science for a reason. We’re in this class because we need to get this grade. We’re not really trying to learn about chickens.”

The limited choice of majors for students with low GPAs is a university-wide problem, Byrne said. Many popular majors have high minimum GPA requirements. The university studies major will allow students to study subjects they’re interested in without needing to gain acceptance to that department, Byrne said.

Byrne said the basketball team’s academic performance has improved under third-year coach Billy Gillispie, for whom Wright played his final season.

Wright, a backup guard with the New Jersey Nets, turned pro after his junior year in 2004 and became the highest draft pick in school history.

“You can’t really say that they’re doing what’s in the kid’s best interest when they’re just trying to get the kid a grade,” Wright said on the show, which examined issues involving college athletics and academics. “They’re not trying to get the kid to graduate. They’re trying to get him a grade to get back on the court.”

[LH Panther Mom]

I'm wondering what type of degree "university studies" would be and what one would be qualified for upon graduation. :thinking: :thinking: :confused:

[Macarthur]

The thing is, the just get them grades thing goes on everywhere. A&M is being targeted a bit here because they have been late to get a "general/university studies" type program. It is a big problem from an NCAA perspective, but should not be an indictment on A&M specifically.

[injuredinmelee]

I would guess 90% of all Publinc Universities have soemthing similiar to this.

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

I'm an athlete at A&M and in the best Petroleum Engineering school in the nation...

[Panther One]

Almost every school has a major in which they put academically challenged athletes. A&M's just happens to be Agriculture. At UT, it's Youth and Community Studies and Liberal Arts. The reason? Because with the GPAs of these athletes, there's no other majors they can get into at these schools. At A&M, Ag is the only program that will take them. And it's not just athletes. There are lots of students who go the Ag route because they want to be at A&M, but can't get into other majors.

One thing you have to consider is that if it weren't for these players' athletic abilities, they wouldn't be at these schools, and may not be in school at all. Those two schools turn away thousands of students every semester that are way more academically qualified than some of the athletes they let in. That's what college sports has become and I don't see it changing.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is that a lot of the athletes in these majors are in school for athletics only and could care less what major they are in. The reason Antoine was in Ag is because he couldn't get into any other major at A&M. If he were at any school with high academic standards, he'd have been in their "easy" major.

A&M gets picked on because the major is Agriculture which doesn't really fit with urban athletes, but unless another major is going to lower their entrance requirements, it will stay that way at A&M.

[Phil C]

Originally posted by injuredinmelee
I would guess 90% of all Publinc Universities have soemthing similiar to this.


UT (Texas) doesn't! That is why we lose athletes to Oklahoma and not just football players. We have lost top balerinas to OU!

:mad:

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Phil C
UT (Texas) doesn't! That is why we lose athletes to Oklahoma and not just football players. We have lost top balerinas to OU!

:mad:

Yes UT does..like it was mentioned 90% or more of D-1 schools have the "easy" major for the athletes.

[Phil C]

I remember Jackie Sherill got into trouble at A&M because their own athletes came up with talk like this. Also SMU got the death penalty in a similar case. Yet let it be Oklahoma or USC and nada happens.

SHOW SOME CONSISTENCY NCAA! :mad:

Also athletes think that these extra benefits should last forever after they have used their eligibility. Don't they realize that when they are no longer eligible it is time for others to get them. No common sense and they get bitter and go public. Come on ex Athletes -

SHOW SOME LOYALTY TO YOUR SCHOOL!!

:mad:

[Phil C]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
Yes UT does..like it was mentioned 90% or more of D-1 schools have the "easy" major for the athletes.

Impossible or Ramonce would have been still playing for us last year (if he had stayed out of trouble with the law)

:mad:

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Phil C
Impossible or Ramonce would have been still playing for us last year (if he had stayed out of trouble with the law)

:mad:

Just because easy majors are in place does not mean the students can just blow off work and classes...The kid still has to do work, even if it is easy work

[mwynn05]

Originally posted by Phil C
Impossible or Ramonce would have been still playing for us last year (if he had stayed out of trouble with the law)

:mad: If UT doesn't have an easy major explain this to me...why are 41% of the football players at Texas Youth and Community Service majors while 0.2% of the undergrads on campus are youth and community service majors....something seems odd there to me

[maestro]

whistle-blowing ex-athletes..

do you all agree or disagree with this?

has any athlete that still had eligiblity ever become a whistle-blower?

frankly, i'm sick and tired of how these athletes felt betrayed by their schools.

the schools have given them opportunities.

you cannot convince me that any of these kids were misled.

any other thoughts?

[Panther One]

A lot of these guys know what their major is going to be before they sign, so if they don't want to go into Agriculture, then go somewhere else. The Ag major is heavily used by coaches around the Big 12 in negative recruiting, so it's not like these guys don't know what they're getting into at A&M.

A lot of these players actually spend two years as a General Studies major. After two years, they have to declare a major, and for most, it's Agriculture because with their GPA, it's their only option. They are given a chance to prove themselves academically, so if they want to point fingers for being in Ag, they should point them at themselves.

But for guys who probably wouldn't otherwise go to college, how can they complain about a free education at a school like A&M, regardless of major?

[Txbroadcaster]

While I agree to an extent about the ex-players..How would we ever find out about schools that do cheat if not for the whistle blowers?

[JJ7997]

I wish I had been blessed with D1 talent and got a free ride ! I wouldnt be whining, because Ag is one of my major interests. I really am leaning more in the wildlife biology area, which I guess still falls under Ag. Scholorships are wasted on individuals who are there only to play ball, but aint ball what makes us all happy ? The education should matter, but dont to some.

[rockdale80]

Does anyone see the irony in this? An athlete complains about a degree program that he doesn't even finish. :thinking:

[JJ7997]

Originally posted by rockdale80
Does anyone see the irony in this? An athlete complains about a degree program that he doesn't even finish. :thinking:

True, Irony is definitely the word of the day. BTW, love that signature pic.

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

Originally posted by JJ7997
True, Irony is definitely the word of the day. BTW, love that signature pic.

Me too, I just wish we had one of them in color. He was the star of the front page of the sports section in the Rockdale Reporter one week in that picture. Needless to say I was a proud little brother.

[burnet44]

some one explain what this means?

"lack of access to appealing majors affects many Aggies athletes"


its the same ol story

university a sucks in a sport or most of em
goes out recruits stud athletes-pay em-put em in no academic classes-ect
program starts winning
sooner or later it catches up with ya
coach leaves
NCAA comes in puts ya on probie-loss of scholarships
program goes back in the toilet
starts recruiting stud atheltes again
repeat-repeat-repeat

examples
Jackie Sherrill
SMU
Alabama
Miami
Florida State
UNLV in basketball

Division I-A institutions on probation
The following institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA:

Arizona State University (through 2007)
Baylor University (through 2010)
California State University, Fresno (through 2010)
University of Georgia (through 2008)
Georgia Tech (through 2007)
University of Iowa (through 2008)[4]
University of Kansas (through 2009)
University of Memphis (through 2007)
Mississippi State University (through 2008)
University of Missouri (through 2007)
Northern Illinois University (through 2007)
Ohio State University (through 2009)
University of Oklahoma (through 2008)
University of South Carolina, Columbia (through 2008)
Texas Christian University (through 2007)
University of Washington (through 2007)

[Panther One]

"lack of access to appealing majors affects many Aggies athletes"

TO explain, all the different colleges at A&M have their own requirements that students must meet in order to major in a particular area. These can be SAT scores, completed coursework, GPA, etc. If the student doesn't meet these requirements initially, they can either choose a different major that they can get into, or choose general studies. They can keep trying to get into their desired major, but can only stay in general studies for two years. At that time, they have to declare a major and they're limited to the majors for which they meet the requirements. A lot of the athletes don't even meet the requirements for Ag, but Ag takes them in anyway. Any department could waive their requirements and take them in, but Ag is the only one that will.

What most need to understand is that it's not so much that Ag is an easier major; it's that the Ag department is willing to let the athletes into their major, while others won't. There are several other majors in which these athletes could carry a 2.2 GPA, but they can't get into those. While Ag isn't Engineering, it's still no cake walk. No major at A&M is a cake walk.

This also isn't a form of cheating and there are no rules being broken. A&M is the most penalized school in NCAA history and therefore now has one of the best compliance departments that keeps tabs on everything. While the NCAA may turn their backs on the OUs, USCs, and UTs, and give them an occasional slap on the wrist, they'll hammer A&M for anything. Remember back in the mid 90s when A&M had players getting paid for work they didn't do? They were banned from TV and post season play the next year. What has happened to OU from the Bomar deal? There's no consistency with the NCAA. They pick and choose who to punish and how harsh to punish them.

And if the NCAA really cared about graduation rates and academic success, they would raise the initial eligibility standards for athletes. They let these schools bring in athletes that are doomed to fail or barely scrape by and then point the finger at the individual institutions when it happens. If they would just raise the initial eligibility standards, it would solve a lot of these academic issues.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by Panther One
If they would just raise the initial eligibility standards, it would solve a lot of these academic issues. It's kind of ironic that you say that. I brought that up a few years ago on the radio when Maurice Clarett was having his academic "problems". Of course, they scoffed and the response was basically that teams want ATHLETES for their scholarships, not brains and if the standards were equal for admission, then no one would watch the teams because they would suck. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: The answer that I didn't get but I'm sure was running through his mind was "stupid chick....what the hell do you know?". :p (Of course, the radio guy had played college football on scholarship, so maybe HE wouldn't have had the chance if he had been required to "qualify" for admission. ;) )


BTW - I now understand "university" studies.....he should've just said general studies. :p

[mwynn05]

general studies is just a different name for undecided

[Phil C]

Many times the coaches at fault weren't punished because they would leave and start anew. It seems that maybe the NCAA is starting to make the punishment follow them to a certain extent. Bravo!