Welcome to Hoosier Week… accompanied by a soundtrack from Bloomington’s greatest artist (no, not JCM– although I would have accepted Hoagy).
Buckeye 411
- New Hotness- If you’re on the interwebs much today, you need to take some time and check out these two great Ohio State websites: CoachUrbanMeyer.com is a pretty user friendly insight into the program, while InsideOhioStateFootball.com is a 360 view of the locations that make up Buckeye football… you’ve got to think that recruits and families will appreciate the ability to “visit” campus before they actually get to the 614.
- Walking Wounded– We heard Monday that Etienne Sabino would be out for at least three games, having broken his fibula against Nebraska; he’s already had a plate surgically inserted into his leg, and Josh Perry will take his spot in the lineup. We’re also aware that Jordan Hall will more than likely not be a part of the gameplan on Saturday as he heals from the knee issue suffered against Michigan State. Otherwise, it sounds as if everyone’s good to go.
- Urb’s Verbs- (Ok, we’re still looking for a catchy title for Coach Meyer’s presser information… we’ll keep looking) In the B1G Presser this week, Coach Meyer talked about his respect for Coach Wilson at Indiana, and how they’d connected early in their careers as “spread to run” gurus. He also stated the obvious, that Braxton and Harvin are the two most electric athletes he’s ever worked with. He also addressed the “AP National Championships” thing that started bubbling after Saturday’s win, and said that his hope is that his players don’t get caught up in the hype and people telling them how good they are. Luckily, Michigan State being on the ropes to Indiana was enough to get the teams’ attention.
- Everyone Gets A Trophy! Nope, not talking about youth league soccer, just the reality of life in the WHAC these days, as each week brings more and more accolades to the Ohio State team. For the Nebraska Game, Braxton was named the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week, Carlos Hyde was the B1G Co-Offensive player of the week, and Corey Brown was the B1G Special Teams player of the week. John Simon really cleaned up this week, though- following a great showing on The Journey, Simon’s play against the Huskers resulted in being named the Lott Impact Player of the Week, the College Football Performance Award national defensive player of the week, and the Chuck Bednarik Award’s national player of the week.
- Yeah, Not Helping- After Cardale’s commentary on the validity of the US Educational System and the myth of the Student Athlete, he was awarded with more study time in the form of a suspension for Saturday’s matchup with Nebraska. To be fair to the young man, he’s a Dean’s List student and does just fine in the classroom. Doesn’t make this any less funny, though:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDCxJfyNDbI]
Commentary– Athletics And Education
It wouldn’t be Wednesday if you didn’t get a little view from inside my head about issues surrounding Higher Education and major college athletics. This week, though, I’ve decided on a little outsourcing.
On Tuesday, two separate groups released findings regarding the state of affairs in our favorite distraction- College Sports. First up was a report from the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities, a group that seeks to assist and support the folks who oversee Higher Educational endeavors on national campuses. Ohio State University and the Ohio State Foundation are both members, as is Penn State, who is the topic of the recent report. Following the mess in Happy Valley, AGB did a national review to see what ways other institutions were prepared to prevent similar situations (failure of Board oversight of athletics; inadequately articulated and reporting of child safety issues, among other problems). The report, which you can read here, makes some interesting observations. Most Universities surveyed were in good shape, having well established protocols regarding the supervision of athletics and evaluation of chief campus officials in regards to their duties and oversight of athletics. In another question, only 19 percent of respondents indicated that their athletic programs were financially self-sustaining, with over a quarter of those involved reporting that they (as a governing body) had access to the information necessary to assess the financial well being of their athletic program. Other data was indicative of the awareness that boards had regarding student academic improvement and NCAA guidelines for their programs. Three recommendations proposed following this data are as follows:
- The governing board is ultimately accountable for athletics policy and oversight and should fulfill this fiduciary responsibility.
- The board should act decisively to uphold the integrity of the athletics program and its alignment with the academic mission of the institution.
- The board must educate itself about its policy role and oversight of intercollegiate athletics.
The TL;DR summary– Athletics is a big thing at Universities, and if the boards who supervise those institutions don’t have a full understanding of the ins-and-outs of this part of campus life, there are significant consequences. In other words: Don’t let Penn State happen to you.
The AGB report was independent, but was funded in part by the Knight Commission, who also released several findings and reports/recommendations today. The Commission, who’s mission is pretty interesting for those invested in the intersection between athletics and academics, also holds the following as descriptive of their work: Working to ensure that intercollegiate athletic programs operate within the educational mission of their colleges and universities. You might know them best from some of their previous reports regarding graduation rates (the impetus for changes the NCAA recently made) and attempts to find a balance between athletic dollars and academic mission. These folks are either the “big thinkers” about this issue or the “people who are trying to kill college sports”, depending on your perspective.
Tuesday’s reports looked deeper at the escalation of athletic spending, particularly at the values attributed to the programmatic expansion of various programs, steps that some institutions had taken to reverse the “arms race” at their institutions, and an interesting overview of whether or not the current state of athletic economic growth is a model that can be sustained (Hint: Nope.). In each case, the Knight Commission continues to ask the larger questions- If athletic endeavors continue to drive the bus, as it were, in institutional investment and expenditures, at what point is the overall academic mission compromised in order to continue producing sporting opportunities and events- items that were initially seen as an ancillary element of the educational experience?
While this information might register as a “Duh!” for most readers, it is something to wrestle with particularly as fans of one of the largest athletic departments in the nation. Given that Ohio State has one of the largest alumni bases in the country, I wonder what the response of those folks would be to the University dropping football? Or, conversely, if the football program dropped the University… if Athletics continued to be self sustainable while the University languished?
That question came up for me in several conversations this week, and was reinforced by the research listed above. First, I continue to be intrigued by the state of Oregon- budget cuts, tuition raises, student fees on the rise as the state wrestles with fiscal responsibility, all the while the athletic program keeps being fed by Nike and other boosters… could this be the first football program without a University?
Second was a discussion that I had regarding Darren Everson’s article in the Wall Street Journal, which labeled Ohio State as “College football’s antihero”. In it, Everson writes the following,
This isn’t some warm, fuzzy, overcoming-the-odds story. Oh no: This is a football factory. Which is ineligible for the postseason. And which just had a player tweet that classes are “POINTLESS.” (His emphasis, not ours.) If any team ought to be elected the homecoming king of this cockeyed sport, it’s the scarlet and gray.
“A football factory”. Granted, that reinforces the legacy that the Buckeyes have of sending players to the professional ranks, but it also might highlight the cart edging out in front of the horse just a bit, if it’s not already there in the minds of many fans (not alumni) across the nation.
“But for Ohio State” is an amazing campaign and a great slogan for the growth and enrichment of the University; I’m excited to read and see how this continues to impact lives around the world. But I worry sometimes that, unless the University’s leadership continues to show the care and intentionality that it has thus far, the true message will be “But for Ohio State Football”.
Across The NCAA
- Big Doin’s Ahead? As Mark Emmert continues to seek ways to innovate and reform college sports, there’s a pretty big list of targets on his table for the near future. I’m sure his staff will still find time to bomb D2 programs while the SEC gets away with murder, though…
- Halloween’s Coming- so it’s time to get your costume ready. Luckily for us, Hawaii and South Carolina have already taken the most ridiculous ones in their attempts to honor ‘Merica: Here’s the Warriors homage to Betsy Ross, while the Gamecocks are ready to head out huntin’ after their game with LSU. Both beg the question… why does Under Armour hate this country?
- Truth In Stereotyping- After West Virginia’s win over Texas on Saturday, Morgantown experienced 35 fires according to police reports. And, of course, the picture in that article is of a burning couch.
- Sandusky- Sentenced to 30-60 years in prison on Tuesday, which came after a number of significantly troubling moves by both his legal counsel and himself.
- Dooley’s… Hip? Thank God I’m not referring to the trendiness of his choice in pantaloons... Tuesday it was revealed that he has been functioning with a broken hip this season and will be in the press box for the next few weeks. ‘Cause that worked really well for the last guy who made that decision.
And Finally
- Technically? This is techno:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk_XaJ7gE4Q]
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
