High moral standards equal losing teams.....I can live with that.

My indiana Hoosiers have suspended two players for failing drug tests.

youtu.be...

This come just after suspending a player for drunk driving.


One of my other teams suspended a quarterback last year for academic issues and five this year for academic issues.
Notre dame by the way.
You know, I'm just fine with these coaches and universities taking the high road and at least trying to make these athletes be good students. So many fail to do so, it's all about winning.

Oh well
Looks like another long year for the Hoosiers.

My school doesn't usually have those issues, but then we aren't stocked with top shelf talent. We wind up with the kids no one would give the time of day to, so they're really wanting to play and will do just about anything to get on the field, including follow coach's rules.

Heck, three of our team captains are former walk-ons this year.

You don't misbehave on coach's ship or you don't see the field, but you don't wind up on coach's ship unless you were desperate to get there anyway.

I do think it's disgusting that so many teams are just about winning on Saturday anymore.

It is a fact that some high schools and universities will pass students simply so they can play sports. There was something that happened to me back in high school that bothers me today. The team needed me the most the one time I was failing a class, which was accounting. I got into the class weeks later than everyone else, and was a little behind, and the entire subject was new to me at the time. That, coupled with me trying to do what I always did in high school, which was never study and to rely on remembering what I had done in class, is what caused me to have a 60 something in that class at the time. It was just a subject that I did not have any natural affinity towards. I was dating the daughter of one of the coaches at the time, and I heard through her that two of the coaches had gotten the accounting teacher to change my grade, simply so I could compete. To be honest that was not what bothered me.

What bothered me the most was the fact that the teacher who failed me was a very good teacher, a lady in her 50's, and who was extremely strict most of the time. I do not know how they got her to change my grade, but I do know that she left after that year. That is what bothered me the most, because I knew that the teachers trying to get my grade changed had a lot of pull in the school. Even though it was not really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, I am still remorseful when I think about it. But honestly I did not really do anything horribly wrong, since it wasn't my idea, but what was my fault was the fact that other people were relying on me, and I knew this, and I still basically slacked off.

I know what the coaches in these types of situations are thinking, but I do not know if they're ever remorseful. Part of the problem is the fact that the administration places too much emphasis on winning sports games, thus the coaches will do everything in their power to win, because losing could cost them their jobs, their livelihood. Even though they shouldn't cheat by allowing failing students to play, they have built their entire system around some of these individuals, and losing them basically throws most of the gameplan out the window. This is mainly true where extremely talented individuals are concerned, otherwise there would be no real incentive to take the risk of cheating.

But the players are to blame as well, at least those who possess the capacity to pass their classes and stay out of trouble, yet who do the opposite. Some universities, and not just the athletic staff, bring student athletes to the school when these students can barely read. Their sole purpose there is for playing sports, usually football. Not all schools do this, but it does happen. Thus there is no way that these students could pass their classes without either being given the answers to tests and assignments, or having their grades changed after they've truly failed the class.

I agree with the original poster in that it is good to see coaches and teachers playing by the rules, even when it hurts their team. I think that enforcing the "no pass no play" will also show the students that if they want to play they have got to do their best to pass their classes legitimately. Part of the problem is that some athletes do not care about getting an education, but instead are focusing on playing professional ball. University-level athletics are basically just an "athlete factory" for professional sports. Perhaps if we didn't play professional athletes obscene amounts of money then more people would concentrate on getting an education, or doing something where they contribute to society...Pro athletes do not perform any vital services, yet they get paid millions. Baseball players especially. It is utterly ridiculous the amounts of money they make, especially considering it is not the hardest pro sport out there. Football players must have a lot more knowledge, must take and give hits, etc., combinations which make the sport infinitely more difficult. And even though NFL players make too much, it still blows my mind that they pay baseball players so much. I do not like baseball though, considering it is slow, boring, and only requires that a player can either throw, hit, or catch the ball. Maybe they have to make some fast-paced plays occasionally, but they only have a few options open to them at any one time, thus the difficulty level is low.

a reply to: JiggyPotamus

I think it depends on the school and definitely on the coach and the program.

Right now, ours takes pride in having high rates of graduation and top scholar athletes in all its sports, including football.

And I know when I was there as an athlete, the football players were right there in study hall with us.

a reply to: JiggyPotamus

When coaches lose games they lose their jobs. Most likely it's that simple.
How much is somebody willing to overlook.


And you are really underestimating baseball players. I have played most of major sports competitively, and baseball is the hardest. Hitting a round ball thats curving with a round bat is the hardest thing in sports.

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

I think each sport has its own technique. There are entire videos online about the technique and strategy involved in running things like the 200m in track and field. I was a hurdler and a high jumper. Now, high jump has a lot of technique to it, especially when you consider your approach and the ins and outs of converting forward momentum to upward momentum through a curve at speed, but you might be surprised at all the strategy that can go into a hurdle race, including counting stride and other fine points of angle and other things like that before you even get to the technique of hurdling.

Baseball technical talk on talk radio starts to make my eyes glaze over after a bit, but it definitely has strategy just like football.

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

I Love seeing schools take the high road as well. In most ways it helps the player more than anything. They get their act together, (see Everet Goldson for example) I have never been a huge Notre Dame fan because being in the chicagoland area, there are some quite annoying Notre Dame fans. But I do respect the school and the players, Its pretty fun to watch them to cause I played against their starting tackle in high school.

Good for indiana and good for notre dame.

Now if the SEC and North Carolina could just follow in those footsteps..