http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...terbrook/071127</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>In a few days, hooded figures manipulating mysterious computer formulas will announce the final BCS standings and the lineup for college football's prestigious bowl games. Records, opponents, conference affiliations, polls and, it always seems, the phases of the moons of Saturn will be taken into account. But what if academics were factored in, too? What if there were an A/BCS -- an Academics-Included Bowl Championship Series?</p> I put that question to Lindsey Luebchow, a policy analyst of the New America Foundation and a contributor to Higher Ed Watch, one of the country's best blogs. Luebchow relentlessly dissects hypocrisy, double-talk and yammer in higher education, especially the big colleges' relationships to Congress. She is also a sports nut, and annually computes what the men's basketball Sweet 16 would look like based on educational achievement. So I asked her to do the same for the top 25 BCS teams.</p> Appropriately, Luebchow came up with a ratings procedure that's hard to understand -- just like the real BCS! Her reasoning: "The A/BCS formula starts with the football team's four-class average federal graduation rate, which includes all football players who entered college between 1997 and 2000 and graduated within six years. Football programs then earn or lose points based on three criteria. First, the gap between the graduation rate of the team and the overall school. Second, the gap between the black-white graduation rate disparity on the team and at the overall school. Third, the team's Academic Progress Rate, a measure developed by the NCAA that evaluates how many student-athletes are advancing toward a degree."</p> Without further ado, here are the big-bowl pairings if academics mattered, with the A/BCS ranking following the school name:</p> Allstate BCS Championship Game: Boston College (127.80) vs. Cincinnati (97.25)</p> Rose Bowl Presented by Citi: Auburn (73.15) vs. Boise State (68.90)</p> FedEx Orange Bowl: Virginia (60.45) vs. Virginia Tech (60.15)</p> Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:</p> Clemson (59.35) vs. USC (51.65)</p> Allstate Sugar Bowl:</p> West Virginia (47.85) vs. Arizona State (46.35)</p> Exiled to the bottom of the A/BCS and the pre-New-Year's bowls named after lawn equipment and mufflers:</p> 21. LSU (29.95)</p> 22. Ohio State (28.55)</p> 23. Oregon (8.35)</p> 24. Texas (7.85)</p> 25. Hawaii (-2.35)</p> Note the University of Cincinnati, often derided for low graduation rates in men's basketball, does very well academically with regards to Division I-A football. Note Auburn, subject of a recent scandal regarding some football players passing classes they seem never to have attended, gets the third seed in the A/BCS rankings, quite a respectable academic performance. Note Clemson, long a sports powerhouse, does well in the A/BCS, a reflection of Clemson's advance to serious-school status, and West Virginia does a lot better than most would have guessed. Note Virginia Tech has essentially the same academic-athletic performance as the selective, much-higher-prestige University of Virginia. Then note Ohio State and LSU, which have bounced around No. 1 and No. 2 much of the year, do poorly on athletic academics -- that $57 million in revenue the football program generated for Ohio State in 2006 doesn't seem to have been invested in textbooks or tutors. And perhaps Hawaii's negative ranking on the A/BCS scale means the average football player leaves the school knowing less than when he arrived.</p> A complete explanation of Luebchow's formula can be found here, along with her ranking for each of the 25 BCS contenders. Her thoughts on the A/BCS, posting simultaneously with TMQ, are here.</p> The First Annual A/BCS Poll also creates an opportunity to restate an idea proposed by a TMQ reader several years ago: the NFL should only alllow its players to list the highest school from which they actually graduated in media guides and television introductions. Scan the "2007 NFL Record and Fact Book," the league's official guide, and you'll find all but a couple of players have "college" listed after their names. During the player introductions that begin most telecasts, the majority of players speak the name of a college. But in too many cases, they only attended the colleges in question, never completing a degree.</p> For instance, a significant number of NFL players are, according to team rosters and sportscaster depictions, "from" Ohio State University. Luebchow uses NCAA data to calculate that only roughly 50 percent of recent Ohio State football players to reach the NFL actually walked in a robe to "Pomp and Circumstance." True, the non-graduates on NFL rosters are just saying they attended Ohio State or other colleges, not claiming to possess degrees. Yet having hundreds of NFL players listed as "from" a college where they rarely were in class and did not complete a diploma is deceptive, implying pro football bears a closer link to higher education than it really does. If, in contrast, NFL media guides and official publications listed the highest institution from which a player received a degree, significant numbers of players would be listing high schools. That might embarrass NFL players into finishing their degrees, also perhaps inspiring present NCAA athletes to graduate on time and qualify to list their colleges. It is, after all, the degree the player should be proud of -- not having taken up a dorm bed and worn a funny plastic hat.</p> </div></p>
LOL Va. Tech, what did you use? Chinese algebra to figure this one out?</p> Buddy, people go to Va Tech because they can't pass the entrance exam for UVA. Hell, for Richmond for that matter!</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Old Bob)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> LOL Va. Tech, what did you use? Chinese algebra to figure this one out?</p> Buddy, people go to Va Tech because they can't pass the entrance exam for UVA. Hell, for Richmond for that matter!</p> </div></p> lol yeah, OK.</p>
I can understand all the cracks about Va Tech. After all, they let Michael & Marcus Vick in.</p> Auburn makes sense. Thecontrst the AU engineering dept had w/ Ga Tech Engineering dept (way back in the day) is the reason this is such a big rivalry.</p>
The only way Auburn gets in there is if the weighted average heavily favors successful alumni goat farmers...</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blackadder)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> I can understand all the cracks about Va Tech. After all, they let Michael & Marcus Vick in.</p> Auburn makes sense. Thecontrst the AU engineering dept had w/ Ga Tech Engineering dept (way back in the day) is the reason this is such a big rivalry.</p> </div></p> lol, I don't understand that logic. All about academics, not behavior, or type of people they are.</p>
