Excuses, Then Inspiration

I'm working on a bit longer, more polished essay-style post rather than the traditional random-thought-or-gut-reaction-to-news-story musing. To that end, there will be no morning post and possibly no evening post.

On the other hand, I figured I would provide you, gentle reader, with some real inspiration. Therefore, partake:







The Michigan Marching Band, I have recently discovered, was the first to be awarded the Sudler Trophy, in 1981. A description:

The purpose of the Sudler Trophy is to identify and recognize collegiate
marching bands of particular excellence who have made outstanding contributions
to the American way of life. The Sudler Trophy is awarded annually to a college
or university marching band which has demonstrated the highest musical standards
and innovative marching routines and ideas, and which has made important
contributions to the advancement of the performance standards of college
marching bands over a period of years.

No marching band may win more than once. All Big Ten schools except Wisconsin and Minnesota own a Sudler Trophy; Michigan State, for those of my readers hailing thence, won theirs in 1988.

Additionally, CollegeSports-Fans.com's Michael Shull, a well-travelled fan of both football and marching bands, ranked the MMB #10 on his Top Ten Marching Bands list in 2007: "Having seen the Michigan Marching Band in person on many occasions, I can tell you that this is a group which is rich in tradition with one of the most recognizable fight songs in the history of college athletics." The only other Big Ten school to appear was, of course, the Ohio State Marching Band, at #2. The University of Wisconsin received honorable mention.

U-M Athletics "Scandal": Day 2 (Still Nothing There)

Day 2 of the research by The Ann Arbor News into Michigan's treatment of student-athletes is here.

Today's article describes a situation even less shocking, if possible, than yesterday's. It seems that Michigan has a General Studies program that allows students to take courses in a wide variety of disciplines and that many athletes are a part of the program. It also seems that some professors aren't thrilled by having to teach athletes, who generally aren't as skilled as the average Michigan student. Furthermore, it seems that some Michigan athletes don't graduate--though the article doesn't mention that its examples of non-graduates had a tendency to leave school to earn lots of money at the pro level in their sport. Neither do they mention any examples of students that graduated with their degree and couldn't find a job anywhere; in fact, one prominent example of a kinesiology student, Chris Floyd, is now pursuing his master's degree from Wayne State. Bill Frieder, Michigan's old b-ball coach before Steve Fisher, told The Ann Arbor News that he respected the administration's willingness to take special-admissions athletes and help them to achieve academic success.

This is why I said in my last post on this subject that this is not only NOT a scandal, it's an anti-scandal: most schools leave athletes out in the cold, like Huggins when he was at Cincy and Florida State under Bowden. Michigan does their best to give their student-athletes a chance to succeed. A lot of them have graduated from poor high schools, a lot of them are extremely poor themselves, and for the vast majority, a Michigan college degree is the only way out. Michigan has given an extraordinary amount of attention to building these young men into successful people, in whatever profession they choose, be it pro sports or something else.

Long-Awaited Ann Arbor News U-M Scandal: Not Much "There" There

(Via MGoBlog.com)

The long anticipated story by The Ann Arbor News uncovering a scandal in Michigan's athletic program...well, it talks tough at the beginning, but reading the entire article (no short task) gives a different impression.

I'm not going to go into details--and you can read the article yourself--but it sounds like what's going on is that--surprise!--Michigan's student-athletes aren't quite as good in school as the general student body, and there's a particular professor who's willing to work with them to improve their study skills. Remediation, especially where athletes are concerned, isn't exactly new to universities. The writers compare the situation to an Auburn professor's "directed readings" given primarily to athletes to boost their GPA. But this is exactly where the difference between Michigan and a lot of these other colleges needs to be pointed out: those "directed readings" were junk courses designed to give players an easy A. The independent studies the article hones in on were study skills courses designed to help students understand how to perform better in their other classes. It shouldn't be surprising that these courses were taken largely by athletes with lower than average GPAs, and Michigan should be commended for taking personal interest in the academic success of its student-athletes, unlike most football factory schools.

Moreover, the only whistle-blowing sources the authors can muster up are two anonymous former employees of the university and a professor who was displaced from an important office by a departmental reorganization and wanted the post that John Hagen, the professor in question, ended up with. The university itself investigated the situation twice and affirmed the program's academic value both times. Now, I could obviously be wrong, but there just doesn't seem to be anything of interest here.

"Champion Factories"

So, I wonder which, according to Forbes, is the best university for producing professional athletes?

That would be...the University of Michigan, with 68. The Ohio State "University" has produced, by contrast, 62 professional athletes, second-most among American universities.

Here's the top ten:

1. University of Michigan
2. The Ohio State "University"
3. University of Miami
4. University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
5. (tie) Florida State "University"
5. (tie) University of Notre Dame
7. (tie) University of North Carolina
7. (tie) Louisiana State "University"
7. (tie) University of Florida
10. University of Tennessee

Michigan is also the number one school for producing NHL players, notably Dallas Stars and Canadian Olympic team goaltender Marty Turco.