Posted on 01/13/2014 7:38:36 AM PST by Altura Ct.
A university learning specialist has received death threats and hateful messages after she exposed shockingly low academic levels among revenue athletes the University of North Carolina.
Mary Willingham found that between eight and ten per cent of college’s football and basketball players had a reading level of a third grader.
By studying eight years of test scores from University of Carolina’s revenue sports players, she found that a majority had a reading level between fourth and eighth grade.
‘We may as well go over to the elementary school up the street and let the fourth-graders and third-graders in here,’ she told CNN.
Ms Willingham looked at 183 revenue sports players at the UNC between 2004 and 2012, and found that between eight and 10 per cent read below fourth grade level and 60 per cent between fourth and eighth grade level.
Ms Willingham also discovered that up to 25 per cent of basketball and football athletes did not have the reading level to study at a community college, let alone at a university.
In the two days which have passed since her findings were published as part of a wider investigation by CNN, Ms Willingham has received four death threats and 30 'alarming messages'
‘Not people who disagree, people who put in the subject or body (of the e-mail) straight-up hate speech,’ she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Of course, most of the threats were badly misspelled and had atrocious syntax.
“I’m betting the baseball players weren’t even part of the study. It’s not a revenue sport.”
I’m sure you’re right. Baseball has a really good minor league system, so any kids who can play, but aren’t really college material can still get drafted into the minors.
He never had to learn anything and graduated, grades were a gift.
Yeh, and I bet those messages come from “third graders”!
Well deserved. If this ever comes completely unraveled, I would not be surprised if Dean Smith was involved with this. It sure would explain the ferocity in which the powers that be are stonewalling the truth from being exposed. The AFAM professor was on campus in ‘92. I’ve read that from 5-8 of the ‘92 team were AFAM majors. They won the NCAA Championship that year.
Try this, it will bring college football players into “focus.”
http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/5fndtz/key-and-peele-east-west-bowl
Wow! I knew it was low, but not that low. Figues though. These gifted athletes have been kowtowed to their whole lives.
I like that term... “revenue athletes”.
I must admit that I have enjoyed the negative publicity tremendously.
For years, we North Carolinians have had to listen to smug UNC fans (so many of whom are not UNC alumni) prattle on about "The Carolina Way" and how they just did things "better" than other schools.
Those of us with a grasp on reality knew they were blowing sunshine. I'm glad to see their lies being exposed and I have NO doubt it goes back to the Dean Smith era.
Maybe baseball is revenue sport at the real USC (South Carolina) but it’s not at most universities.
And UCLA won the College World Series last year. What about the rest of the teams in that climb? Maybe not as much as football, but with college as a route to MLB, there’s more money and action there than you perhaps realize.
I’m not saying it’s not popular. Heck I watch it in the spring until I go nuts from the pings off the aluminum bats. However, it’s not considered a revenue sport in the NCAA. The only 2 consistent revenue sports are football and basketball (mostly men’s).
I imagine ASU, UCLA (this year) and a few other schools might profit from baseball, just UCONN might make a profit from girls basketball and Johns Hopkins or Duke might turn a profit with lacrosse. But those are the exceptions.
You may find this shocking (or not) but D-1 baseball teams can only offer 11.7 full scholarships per year. That’s not aggregate either....that’s just under 12 full rides on the team at any given time. They can do up to another 15 partial baseball-related scholarships, but that’s it. And that assumes that the institution fully funds all of those scholarships.
I was shocked when I learned all this, but with a son who plays a non-revenue sport I’m glad he gets good grades.
Okay. I see what you mean now. That’s interesting, and kinda sad, as the majors milk the college ranks.
I think grades are really important too. Kudos to you and your son.
I agree; however I think the NFL and NBA are worse offenders than MLB and the NHL. At least if a kid is not academically inclined he can pursue a professional hockey or baseball career through those sports’ minor league systems. You really can’t in the NFL or NBA who essentially see the NCAA as their free farm system.
A guy I work with who went to State said that one of the articles he read about this mess said a Carolina player thought he was going to school to become a barber.
If this is true then at every State/Carolina game the Pack band should play and crowd chant along, “shave and a haircut, two bits”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.