Anyone paying attention to what the University of Connecticut just did down in Storrs with their basketball program? Coach Jim Calhoun seized the opportunity to bring highly touted Andre Drummond, the top ranked recruit by ESPN, to campus to play for his basketball program in their efforts to defend last year's national championship. While Drummond had planned on spending a postgraduate year at Wilbraham and Monson Academy where he would entertain thoughts of entering the 2012 NBA Draft or attending college, he changed his mind and recently enrolled in UConn for the fall semester. No problem, just another young man changing his mind.
But wait, UConn didn't have any remaining scholarships to offer Drummond under the NCAA cap for men's basketball. UConn actually only has 10 scholarships available this year -- three fewer than allowed under NCAA rules. Why so few? Because the men's basketball program has consistently treated NCAA rules as recommendations rather than requirements, coupled with the fact that their graduation rate languishes around 30%.
No available scholarship? No problem. Current player, Michael Bradley, a 6'10" backup center, has decided to give up his scholarship so Drummond can join his team. Wait... what? Many across the country are applauding Bradley for exhibiting a selfless dedication to his school so they can bring in another star for Calhoun's program. Don't cry for Bradley; apparently he is going to apply for financial aid and, one can only assume, be taken care of by UConn.
So let me get this straight. Bradley gives up a scholarship worth approximately $40,000 a year -- maybe for just this year, maybe for his entire college career. Coach Calhoun then awards this "vacant" scholarship to one of this year's prized recruits. Bradley applies for financial aid from UConn, a public school, and ostensibly receives a full ride while somewhere in the Nutmeg State a high school valedictorian who had aspirations of attending UConn gets their financial aid package slashed because becoming a doctor or a writer doesn't put fans in Gampel Pavilion on game day.
The problem is that college athletics has evolved to the point where schools do their best to "compete at the highest levels" and treat the NCAA regulations as arcane rules developed by misguided individuals who have lost touch with reality. Maybe so. But maybe the rules have developed to cover loophole after loophole in response to coaches, under pressure from boosters and athletic directors, as they push the boundaries. Furthermore, those working in compliance offices in athletic departments often look the other way until things blow up -- hello the Ohio State University and the University of Miami.
The problem is that no one is truly looking out for the best interests of the student-athlete. There is no student athlete advocacy group. The NCAA was supposed to play that role but has been completely neutered by the shift of power from academics to high profile coaches and their athletic departments. Gone is the concept of amateur college athletics and with it the priority of educating student-athletes.
Under NCAA President Mark Emmert there are talks of "reform." They even passed a rule that places minimum requirements on graduation rates for student-athletes with failure bringing penalties to the school. College student-athletes are prohibited from forming a union because, under cases taken to federal court, they are not defined as employees of their schools. Were he represented by a union, is there any chance they would have allowed Bradley to "give up" a scholarship in this scenario?
In Major League Baseball, Alex Rodriguez tried to give up money under his contract when the Texas Rangers tried to trade him to the Boston Red Sox several years ago. Rodriguez decided that he would get enough value by playing in a bigger market and winning a World Series to compensate a reduction in salary. Even uber-agent Scott Boras agreed. Nope, the union blocked this as it would be unfair to other, less powerful players in the future.
I mean no disrespect to Bradley and take him at his word that he wasn't forced into "taking one for the team." That said, while many across the country are applauding Bradley how come there is a deathly silence in questioning the actions of UConn? It's just how the game is played and we are complicit.
Follow Warren K. Zola on Twitter: www.twitter.com/StudAthAdvocate
This is only making news because IT'S UCONN. They're a household powerhouse in hoops and just landed their biggest recruit ever coming off a National Championship.
They didn't break any rules, but because it's UCONN, everyone wants to cry foul.
If one were to write about corruption in collegiate sports, why not write about the debacle at Miami University?
Specifically, the NCAA holds that "The Graduation Success Rate also allows institutions to exclude from the computation student-athletes who leave their institutions before graduation, so long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained."
Any player who left UConn early, either for the NBA or a transfer, would not count against the school's graduation rate so long as they were in good academic standing when they left. The bottom line is that UConn was unacceptably low in graduating students and this, in part, cost them scholarships.
What are the chances this young man made such an honorable decision for the UConn community and is one of, if not, the most at risk academically, coming from a financial background that would ensure him financial aid without flagging the NCAA?
A win win! He keeps playing basketball for free while the school gets his services, is able to add another talent to the roster, and will not be at risk since (1) the freshman year to sohomore year is the easiest to remain in good academic standing and (2) the APR does not count non-scholarship athletes.
You want a real story? Take a look at how the APR hits non-head count sports. It is one thing to say you are not graduating students you are giving free education to. It is another to wonder why kids leave school when they are paying for a large partion of their education. Baseball, soccer, wrestling and swimming traditionally don't offer full rides (or the academic support of the 'revenue' sports) and take a harder hit when kids start to struggle and their parents want a less expensive school or transfer for more playing time since they are paying for their education. This new rule will drop more non-revenue sports.
Sadly, the admin side of athletics is not sexy so people will assume what they want and college coaches will continue to tell their fans and recruits that they lost scholarships because alums made millions in the NBA.
now i would like to add my 2 cents:
the graduation rate at Uconn is low because Uconn puts ALOT of pro's in the NBA, they leave early and for the most paRT they leave after there JR year i.e. walker okefor(both graduated in 3 years). any given year for the past 10 years Uconn has more active pro's in the NBA than any other school.
also, i think the NCAA would be happy with bradley and drummond being at Uconn...Bradley is an A student and Drummond was an A student in HS and Pre school.
this guy that wrote this story did so to make Uconn look bad, we are use to that at ths point.
Uconn willl win back to back NC
Getting kicked out of school does mean you cant graduate.
And it is fine if he wants to go to school for 6 years. But I dont see that it is right to pay for his first, 2nd, fifth and 6th years, when he is playing in his 1st, 2nd , 3d and 4th years. They are just gaming the scholarship system.