The D1 College Admission Mystique...put a pin in this one

[becoolpt55]

I used to personal train a young lady who used to read the college admission essays for Stanford....
once she was offered $500,000 to give a great essay score to a Stanford applicant by the kids parents....She didn't take it...

https://www.foxsports.com/west/stor...n-biggest-college-admissions-scam-ever-031219

 

[ClayK]

I'm guessing it's not just D1. D3 schools give favored admission to athletes too ...

 

[becoolpt55]

My daughter went to Notre Dame HS in Belmont....she said some of these stories are hilarious a kid who has no idea how to play tennis...
with Photoshop pictures of her playing tennis...cheating on their SATs...
some of this to get into USC???? USC!!!!
This Notre Dame kids family ran the scam twice...with a younger daughter also!!! $425K....
Then bragging about it....
https://nypost.com/2019/03/13/ceos-...cheating-on-sats-in-college-scam-prosecutors/

 

[ClayK]

College athletics are corrupt from top to bottom, but even though this is getting all the headlines, much, much worse is the exploitation of athletes who generate hundreds of millions of dollars for NCAA teams and get paid zero. Meanwhile, coaches and administrators get six-figure salaries, can "transfer" without losing time from work, and can hire agents to negotiate their contracts.

 

[colhenrylives]

I just purchased a tight little Speedo over at Big 5. Very stylish. You never know when USC will come calling.

 

[Common Sense1]

I'm guessing it's not just D1. D3 schools give favored admission to athletes too ...

Every school at every level has slots for athletes in every class. It's always been a known thing that a coach can get a kid admitted at the last minute, even if the class is "full".

My daughter plays college ball. When we went on the official, we had to go to financial aid and admissions. We said we didn't need to go, but the coaches insisted to make sure everything was in order. The coaches and admin in those offices were floored that my daughter had already been admitted to the school as a regular student and had all of her financial aid paperwork in. They're so used to dealing with athletes that don't know what they're doing that they're shocked when they get one that does.

 

[WivitBear]

So Clay, I say we just drop all college sports. Then let teams be formed that are just their for the sport. Check out what minor league baseball players get and you will find it is worth less than a scholarship, meals and board. The college fans are what give the money. They wouldn't go if it wasn't associated with their school.

At Cal, there are just two sports that are revenue generators or have a positive cash flow. And their revenues and donations from their fans support all the other sports at Cal. Women's bball is the biggest loser. So if a sport can not fund itself then let it go. You won't have overpaid coaches and their assistants.

And before you ask, I have season tickets for women's ball and I contribute to both women's BBall and women's volleyball. And I don't feel these athletes are exploited. And you can use it to get yourself admitted to a program that you wouldn't have gotten into in the first place.

And yes I played college sports and still feel that way. Just study harder and get an academic scholarship. And then you can complain about how much your professor is paid.

 

[ClayK]

Logically, you're right -- college sports have nothing to do with university-level education.

But obviously college sports make sense for major colleges or we would have seen many schools drop athletics. Since none have, really, it's pretty clear that, all things considered, the value of college sports is worth the cost (in terms of marketing, donors, enrollment, etc.), even if schools like to insist that they lose money. Accountants can make the books sing opera or folk rock, depending on their mood, so I don't believe any financial report. What I do believe is behavior, and the consistent behavior pattern for the past century has been a larger and larger investment in college athletics. So unless college presidents, and regents, are all stupid, college sports is a bottom-line winner for universities.

 

[Norcal_Fan]

Logically, you're right -- college sports have nothing to do with university-level education.

But obviously college sports make sense for major colleges or we would have seen many schools drop athletics. Since none have, really, it's pretty clear that, all things considered, the value of college sports is worth the cost (in terms of marketing, donors, enrollment, etc.), even if schools like to insist that they lose money. Accountants can make the books sing opera or folk rock, depending on their mood, so I don't believe any financial report. What I do believe is behavior, and the consistent behavior pattern for the past century has been a larger and larger investment in college athletics. So unless college presidents, and regents, are all stupid, college sports is a bottom-line winner for universities.

They won't say this, but having a good sports program increases applications and if you have a great sports program, it can increase the perception of the institution. There was a case study for Duke and how it, as an institution, rose to prominence since Coach K took over the program and started winning. Because of the success, Duke is now regarded as a clear Tier 1 academic institution, whereas before, it was just a good university. Remember that George Washington team that made a run to the final four a few years ago? Since that run, applications have skyrocketed, donations had been at an all time high. Success breeds success and the perception of success.

 

[Common Sense1]

They won't say this, but having a good sports program increases applications and if you have a great sports program, it can increase the perception of the institution. There was a case study for Duke and how it, as an institution, rose to prominence since Coach K took over the program and started winning. Because of the success, Duke is now regarded as a clear Tier 1 academic institution, whereas before, it was just a good university. Remember that George Washington team that made a run to the final four a few years ago? Since that run, applications have skyrocketed, donations had been at an all time high. Success breeds success and the perception of success.

Success also gives schools a lot of leeway to charge ridiculous tuition. Let a kid tell you that they're going to attend a small religious college in the Midwest that charges slightly over $55K in tuition and fees, and you'll wonder if the parents are crazy. But no one here would bat an eye at a kid saying that they're going to Notre Dame, which has every qualification of what I just mentioned.

 

[WivitBear]

Again , they go to see their school play. But they wouldn't go if the athlete was playing in a club somewhere. So they wouldn't draw as well. Ergo, less money.

The paying of athletes because the game would end if they stopped playing is ludicrous. The alumni go because they love their school and want to see their teams play. University of Cal built Memorial stadium in the 1920's with a 74,000 capacity. And they filled it without a lot of people knowing who the players were.

As far as students going to your school, I bet Cal and Stanford turned away more students that applied than most of the big sports schools. And Notre Dame is a very good Academic school. If it weren't then fewer people would want to go to school there.

 

[becoolpt55]

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/articl...sions-scam-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-ivy

 

[Norcal_Fan]

I'm guessing it's not just D1. D3 schools give favored admission to athletes too ...

If you think of the cost of an education, you can't really put an "N" to it. Yes, the average cost at a UC is 25-30k (depending on how luxurious you want to live) which equates to 100-120k for 4 years, but at schools like UCLA, CAL, UCSB, getting a degree from one of these institutions is much more valuable than that (earning potential in certain fields/areas of study). Graduating from Cal with a degree in computer science can ask a lot more than someone graduating from Cal State Stanislaus. It's a numbers game...so if parents can put their kids in a position to be successful, then why not?

I guess it's not as prevelant on the basketball side, but in soccer, baseball, and other lower tier sports (non-head count) college coaches CAN and do coach club teams, train individuals and can make absorbent amounts of money just on side jobs. You don't think parents are paying hands over heels for their kids to get "trained" but some of these coaches and somehow get a roster spot on these college teams? This goes way beyond the 50 people who were caught...its a more deep labyrinth that they're just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Common Sense1]

Again , they go to see their school play. But they wouldn't go if the athlete was playing in a club somewhere. So they wouldn't draw as well. Ergo, less money.

The paying of athletes because the game would end if they stopped playing is ludicrous. The alumni go because they love their school and want to see their teams play. University of Cal built Memorial stadium in the 1920's with a 74,000 capacity. And they filled it without a lot of people knowing who the players were.

As far as students going to your school, I bet Cal and Stanford turned away more students that applied than most of the big sports schools. And Notre Dame is a very good Academic school. If it weren't then fewer people would want to go to school there.

The alumni go see their teams play because we consider college athletics to be the norm. If they were eliminated and replaced with minor league athletics, people would eventually gravitate to watching minor leagues.

Alumni only pay attention when their teams win. I can't see T. Boone Pickens or Phil Knight sinking the money into Oklahoma State and Oregon like they do if the programs were perennial losers. And catch USC football in a down year vs a good/great year. The attendance at the Coliseum is pretty noticeable.

The game will absolutely end if the players decide to stop attending. College athletics exist because the biggest revenue sports have the backing of the pro sports leagues. The new NBA G League threatens to damage that concept by actually paying players and giving them the only education that matters, which is how to conduct yourself as a professional athlete and how to manage your money. And if the G League is successful, I'm sure it won't be long before the NFL starts to look into something similar.

Will alumni still donate and come out in droves to see 2nd and 3rd tier players wearing their school colors? I'm thinking no.