CASTLE TO FORTIFY OSU'S ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY

“That doesn’t mean [Castle’s] going to be taking any of them for a spin on his bike.” Is that a euphamism I’ve never heard, or a quaint way of travel popular in Columbus? Rain drops keep fallin’ on my head…..

whatever happened to katzxqentmoyer?

is he still alive?

He pumped my gas yesterday.

I thought “academic encourager” had to be y’all’s idea of an Onion-esque joke, but . . . if the article is correct, that really is how they’re referring to it. And thus the Tosu football program bravely forges yet further into the realm of self-parody. Does this mean Tressel’s title is now “athletic encourager,” or is he still just going to be plain ol’ “coach”?

“We stress to our student-athletes that the most important thing they’re recruited here for is to get a degree.”

Although “academic encourager” will undoubtedly be the enduring one-liner from this story, coffee shot out of my nose when I read the above. Like Doug, it slowly dawned on me that this is not an article from the Onion. This Castle sounds suspiciously like my 8th grade American History teacher. A jovial alcoholic, his idea of academic encouragement was telling 13 year olds “not to cry in your beer” on the rare occasions that he assigned homework. Godspeed, Mr. Castle.

Collegefootball NewSpeak

Head Coach: Sport Specific Athletic Encourager.
Offensive Coordinator: Point Production Coordinator
Defensive Coordinator: Point Production Discourager

Help me out on the rest…

OK, how ’bout a cheerleading spin.

You can do it, You’re OK. If you study you’ll get another A!!!

You can do it, You’re OK. If you remember to tell the academic support staff you’ve got a test or paper due like we told you to, you’ll get another A!!!

Katzenmoyer had to retire early from the NFL because of injuries. He made enough during his brief career to live comfortably— he bought a nice house on a golf course in a suburb of Columbus. Last I heard, he was coaching high school football in the area.

I believe he may have gone back to OSU to finish his degree, but I’m not 100% sure of that.

He did come back, and Katzenmoyer is currently working on finishing his degree.

Now, in regards to all the snipes at the tOSU football team’s academic status, in reality Ohio State has one of the highest rates of academic all-americans and routinely graduates among the top of the major football powerhouses. Tressel does place a premium on academic achievement, and The Ohio State University is far removed from the days of Cooper and Katzenmoyer.

Is he getting a dual major in “Golf” and “AIDS awareness”??

It’s easier for the offense:

O-line coach: Bulk-with-agility encourager
Tight ends coach: Good-speed-for-a-big-man encourager
Receivers coach: Pattern and stickum purveyor
Recruiting coordinator: Escalade enabler

Linebackers coach= “enstoppment developer”

the 54% grad rate is 18th among rates for last years top 25.

We don’t doubt that tOSU puts as great or a greater emphasis on academics as the other great football factories, but let’s face it, academics at all these places…even Notre Dame… is a distant second.

“Escalade Enabler”’

GREAT!

At least Stranko sees it for what it is. Sure, tOSU is definitely trying to enhance their academics for football players, but that’s not the main reason why these guys are in school.

Even the military academies drop their requirements for someone that can help their sports teams.

“Recruiting coordinator: Escalade enabler”

Nicey, Oren.

Thanks, I’ll be here all week, tip your waitstaff…

Linebackers Coach: Choke the Quarterback encourager.

Not sure what’s more disturbing…

A: This position actually exists.

or

B: It takes more than one person to do this job.

I dunno, ND is legit about it’s academics. go tell Alan Page (Minn. Supreme Court Justice/NFL MVP) that academics were secondary at ND.

Something’s missing… hey, where’s the requisite outraged mullet-headed buckeye to defend his blessed teh ohio a&m?

yeah, we have this at UMD. grad students come to class and look for members of the sports teams. what has this accomplished? our best basketball player ends up academically ineligible and the basketball team’s senior class has 0% graduation rate.

“We know right then if the players have been in class,” Jefferson said. “We stress to our student-athletes that the most important thing they’re recruited here for is to get a degree.”
          —————————-

Does somebody have the audio to this press conference? I want to hear the part immediately after Jefferson said this because there just has to be someone there who stood up and called “BS!”

I think there was a reverse version of this when I was at ND. It was plain to see that there was someone looking out for the athletes to make sure they knew when they absolutely could not miss class and that sort of thing. How else can one explain that the 5-6 football players in an 300-level literature class always seemed to show up when there happened to be a “pop” quiz?

Wooderson, I agree that ND probably emphasizes it more than many other schools, but my experience was that this didn’t mean the athletes were on the same playing field as everyone else in terms of academics. Not that I would want or expect them to be though…

Strength Coach: “Flaxseed Procurer”

Ohio State has led the Academic All-Big Ten football squad the last four years. To be eligible, a player must carry a 3.0 GPA and earn a letter. This past academic quarter, 51 players posted a 3.0 or higher, raising the team GPA to 2.84.

While it is well documented that OSU football players have had their share of academic issues, it should be noted how much progress has been done since Tressel has arrived. Cooper was fired partially because of the low academic rankings of his players. Wait until the APR effects Top 25 programs with scholie loses. At least, OSU is unlike Mark Richt in which 9-10 players of a recruiting class can’t even make it into school.

Also take a look at how many SEC schools use Hargrave and other bogus military acadamies to get kids into school that have no business being there.

Funny you should mention the APR, as the Bucks managed to improve from 2005’s sub-900 score to exactly 925 this past February, thus earning Cheatypants the NCAA’s coveted “Bob Barker Award.”

But don’t worry, football scholarships at Toledo have been sacrificed for your sins.

I am no longer known as OSU hater. It is hard to hate the person/ fan base that really can’t laugh at itself. It just makes me sad.

But I’ve spent the last 15 minutes thinking about what my college experience would have been like with my own “academic encourager.”

Lord knows there would have been less fat chicks in my bed on weekday mornings than there was. Oh well, it was worth it.

Huzzah for the squad-size adjustment! Rejoice tOSU, Alabama, Oregon, ASU! Your sub-900 scores and

below 52% graduation rates shall go unpunished for 2 more years!

Sorry about that; when I use the “less than” sign it wouldn’t submit properly.

What tOSU’s high graduation rate and number of 3.0s tells me is that Tressel has been the most successful coach in the Big 10 at finding and/or setting up the most football friendly classes/professors. Every coach knows the classes and professors to send their players too. I knew whenever I walked into a class and saw more than 5 football players, I was looking at an easy A. Tressel just happens to be better at getting these things done than others.

For the record, I don’t have a problem with the football friendly courses either. This, after all, is college football we’re talking about.

A Buckeye calling out Mark Richt? Are you serious? There is a difference between giving a marginal kid a shot to succeed and ignoring eligibility requirements to ensure his continued football success. I don’t have a problem with the latter, as long as it is something like test scores and not a rap sheet that makes him a marginal kid. UGA’s APR was actually a 950, so I don’t see the link between Tosu and UGA on this issue.

And, um, if your academics were so “better than yours”, why would you need this position filled? It would seem to be superfluous.

Waterboy: beverage technician

Laura Quinn: erection disabler

Turd Burglar Dept:

What is next?

THE ohio state university hiring someone to help their footballers wipe and avoid skidmarks?

When I was at OSU, “the skidmark disabler” was available to all students for a $100 extra fee per quarter.

Well I went to gradual school at tOSU and I got to be a TA in some of those football friendly classes. They are as legit as anybody regarding the players. All the football factories have academic support people. I just hired someone who was one of Reggie Bush’s tutors at USC.

The strange thing about tOSU is the overall academics of the place. They have the faculty and graduate program of a major research university but the undergraduate admissions policy of a community college (everyone who graduates from high school in Ohio can get into tOSU). I remember in my frist quarter as a TA telling a young woman that she was going to get a “D” in my class and she responded “I never did that well in high school”. I asked her what her GPA was and she said “1.2”. I heard back then that 50% of the freshman class would flunk out and the attrition rate was about 70%. And based on the grades I handed out that seemed about right. So the problems there with graduation rates are by no means limited to the football team.

I think California’s system makes much more sense; the community colleges are open to everyone, the top third of students are elligble for Cal State, and the top few percent can get into a UC. (though if you read Bruins Nation you might think UCLA takes the community college rejects)

The last good student/athlete was Craig Krenzel, and you have to go back to Robert Smith before that.

“The last good student/athlete was Craig Krenzel, and you have to go back to Robert Smith before that.”

How about Anthony Gonzalez? 4.0 GPA and being considered for a Rhodes Scholarship? Sounds like a solid student/athlete to me.

Phil:

I totally agree with you about the Bruins Nation site. It is so badly written (worse than even my writing) that it is funny. The logic, the rants, the poor layout…awful…

I go there for laughs, sort of like the Jerry Springer of sports blogs.

But, Bruins Nation is currently bragging about the record number of applications (almost 50,000), GPAs, blah, blah, blah…of this year’s entering class at UCLA.

Those cotton pickers who put out the blog, if their claims are true of being graduates from UCLA, must have gotten into the school by doing (insert acts that would be illegal in various states) to admissions officers of the school.

Yeah, the Jerry Springer comparison is apt, but unkind to Jerry. The BN guys are so full of bile and hatred that they turn into a comedy act. The fact that a big chunk of it is directed towards their own coach/school makes me love them. I can’t help but imagine top quality recruits getting an impression of UCLA based on that site.

You never know on the internet what’s real. Maybe Nestor really is a 16 year old kid who just claims to be a UCLA grad. That would make a lot of sense in some ways.

Good for them that they get lots of applications to the university. I bet BN won’t mention that the SAT scores of all those freshman who end up going to UCLA are lower than the ones who go to USC.

while i found all these comments humorous and i honestly did smile a bit, i figured we could mix a little fact in with the cynical (albeit funny) speculation. i’m currently a TA at Tosu and we’ve really come a long way since the ’80’s and ’90’s regarding academics in all areas. in addition to the commentary above about the higher average GPAs for athletes, particularly football players, OSU’s current entering freshmen classes are comprised of the following: students graduating in the top 10% of their high school class (42%); the top 20% of their high school class (69%); the top 30% of their high school class (86%); the top 40% of their high school class (95%) the top 50% of their high school class (98%). 18% of the freshman class scored in the top 3% of the SAT or ACT, while 56% scored in the top 15%. Undergraduate retention levels are at relative highs and various colleges and departments and the university as a whole have been climbing up the rankings, for what it’s worth. The Center at the University of Florida’s detailed analysis and rankings of American universities currently places Ohio State as the 29th ranked university in America, the 11th ranked public university in America. Compare that to other football powers, especially considering that they are MOSTLY public institutions, and it’s not nearly as bad as most of you have alluded to above.

but honestly, the “academic encourager” position, while probably swelling with good intentions, sounds at the very least quite ludicrous.

True, Notre Dame is a fine academic institution with famously high-standards for its student athletes. Too bad their football team stinks.

y-oz: I’m glad to see that things are moving in a good direction at tOSU. I didn’t mean to slam the place (I’m a grad after all) but I was just pointing out that the system there means that retention/graduation rates are always going to lag behind public universities from states with different admissions criteria. And it is not really fair to pick on the football team when the campus-wide numbers are low.

I still think that most of the students who were not in the upper quarter of their HS graduating class would be better served in the more nurturing environment of a community college for the first two years rather than heading directly to a major research oriented university.

Funny how everyone loves to knock on someone for trying to making strides and improvements academically….haters

The academic encourager is pretty funny, I will admit. However, I can’t imagine we’re the first school to have a position of this sort. I mean, think about it. Wouldn’t schools who cling to both their academic and athletic “traditions” (read: Notre Dame) just have a fanicer rug to sweep all the dirt under?

So OSU hires an advisor to make sure kids are going to class and they get ripped for it? Not being an OSU fan I understand people taking their shots, but why not support coaches who are attempting to raise their academic standards?

btw OSU is actually one of the toughest universities to get into nationwide… if you doubt me then check the facts for yourself (for non-football players anyways) so whoever said that ANYONE from Ohio can get in then you are wrong my friend.

Speak your mind, share your opinion, but at least get the facts right.

OSU Admissions Policy: http://undergrad.osu.edu/admissions/frcriteria.asp

Ohio State has a competitive admission process in which students are considered for admission based largely on their academic performance and credentials. Secondary factors include school and out-of-school activities. All students are considered under competitive standards except Ohio residents applying to an Ohio State regional campus in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, or to Ohio State ATI in Wooster.

Three primary factors are considered in our competitive admission review process:

Successful completion of the college preparatory curriculum while in high school. The minimum college prep requirements are listed below. Numbers in ( ) represent the recommended number of units for strong preparation.
4 units of college prep English
(4) 3 units of college prep math
(3) 2 units each of college prep science, social science and the same foreign language
1 unit of a visual or performing art
1 additional unit of the above courses
Students exceeding the minimum curriculum in math, natural resources, or foreign language will be given additional consideration.
High school performance as evidenced by class rank or grade point average.
Performance on the ACT or SAT (you must submit scores from one of the two tests).
You may be given additional consideration if:
you attend a competitive high school
you have taken accelerated courses (e.g. Honors, AP, IB)
you are a first-generation college student
you provide cultural, economic, racial, or geographic diversity
you possess particular outstanding talents
you have been involved in extracurricular activities, have had significant work experiences, or leadership positions
your high school performance was adversely affected by physical, mental, or learning environment factors
you are eligible for and will benefit from organized support services at Ohio State
Additional Requirements:
Ohio State requires that you receive a high school diploma from a chartered high school or GED to enroll.
Students attending Ohio State regional campuses must meet campus change requirements to enroll at the Columbus campus.
An official ACT or SAT score, sent directly from the agency, will be required for admission.

Don’t cheapen my education by saying that it is equiv. to a Community College.

osu is a thug, classless school with a few decent students around every once in a while. They recruit thug idiots who are good at football, and the admission requirements there are on par with some Comunity Colleges (they let any hs grad from Ohio in), and worst of all instead of just being honest with themselves like Miami and Memphis fans osu fans still try to argue that their school has half the class or academics of an actually competent, respectable state school like Georgia, Michigan, or Virginia.

OSU is a thug, huh. Interesting, I’m an OSU law student and, last I checked, more than 3000 applicants applied for only 250 seats. That’s an applicant to admission ratio in the top ten in the nation. The law school itself has been ranked as high as eighth in the nation and as low as 32nd. Either way, it’s considered one of the premier law schools in the United States. When “Jon” can get into and sit next to me in class at this “thug” university, then maybe he can open his classless dumbass trap. Until then, I suggest you figure out who you’re calling thug, while The Ohio State University Football program is kicking the shit out of whoever you root for next season.

Gee great point there “Patrick,” is the obsessive use of quotes something they teach you over there at the oh so prestigious osu law school? Just out of curiosity how many osu football players are law school students? What’s that? NONE! Oh. Well then you certainly brought some awfully pertinent information to the table. Oh and congratulations, honestly it must make you feel good that some people who write a magazine occasionally say that osu has a decent law program. You should discuss this in your next law class and have your professor explain to you how the only non geographical connection between the osu law program and the football program is that the former often assembles the defense teams that make sure when the football players serve their time, they do it in the off season. Do you notice how your entire e-mail illustrated my point about osu students have illusions of academic grandeur, and just cannot bear to admit to themselves how classless the football team, if not the entire school is. Stop calling it the osu too; I understand it’s confusing to the students when they are told that there is actually more than one university in ohio, but seriously try to be original and stop following the trend (started by the true U, Miami, coincidentally).

Well, Jon. If you had read your post to start with, then you would have understood why my post was referring to the law school (and the general academic population, both undergraduate and graduate) and not just the football team. It’s time for some of those quotes you love so much because here is what your post said that I replied to (it’s painful having to help you out this much), “osu is a thug, classless school with a few decent students around every once in a while.” Is there any place in that quote that points to your comment being directed at the football team only? I have no problem with you stating your perceptions of the football team (however uneducated and uninformed they may be). My point was that OSU is a good, if not great, academic school as compared to any school in the nation (especially the University of Miami, which is known and almost prides itself on recruiting thugs). I really couldn’t care less whether or not there are any football players in the law school since your statement was that the university had a few “decent” students. Your words, not mine. As for my illusions of grandeur, I agree that a magazine knows nothing about what the actual law school is about, but I also know that OSU law grads are practicing in all fifty states and thirty-five countries. That tells me that someone else thinks our graduates are pretty good as well. Regardless, if this is just another Miami fan that is bitter about the defeat that sent your program into freefall, please accept our apologies, but honestly get a real coach and maybe you’ll win some more games. We’ll be thinking of you guys when we’re in Tempe in January.

Sincerely,

Classless OSU Thug

Well I was just kind of thinking that possibly when I post something on a COLLEGE FOOTBALL website that my comments just might have more relevance to the FOOTBALL TEAM than the entire student body. But if the theme of this website has managed to escape you I was referring more to the football team as classless and thug infested which it is according to any research one could possibly do (or was my information on that Maurice Clarett kid was simply disinformation by the Liberal Michigan alumni controlled media). You do have a point though, I should have substituted the word “school” for “program” in that quote seeing as the entire student body is not thug (though classless is still quite a possibility). However, your idea that osu is great academically is simply idiotic. Lets compare your school to oh… say…Michigan. Michigan is widely noted for being one the best public universities in the nation (osu clearly is not). Michigan has amazing programs in science, law (according all rankings MUCH better than osu’s), and engineering just to name a few. Not only that now that I check they seem to be winning your little rivalry too, and they have more national titles. I understand the term “decent student” is a bit relative, by decent I mean someone who manages to do better than some shitty state school like Alabama, Tennessee, or osu (they are all about on par). Congratulations that some osu law grads managed to pass the bar in various states, I am sure that must mean it is one great law school!!!! Seriously, what large state law school couldn’t make a claim like that? I am actually not a big Miami fan but I do enjoy how upfront they are in not kidding themselves into thinking their program has an ounce of class, whereas for some reason osu still seems to be in denial. By the way, Miami was clearly the better team in that game, you guys got the good end of possibly the worst int calls EVER, and managed to injure their star, and thus barely won the game.

I guess I could care less about the academics. I really just want the players to be eligible. Anyone who says otherwise is full of crap. I would rather have a 2.0 team GPA and 10 wins versus 3.5 and 3 wins. Nobody cares about the livelihood of these kids after college, unless it’s a rival’s star player pumping your gas or you know them personally. It’s entertainment, people. Just admit it.

Jon don’t try save yourself you’re digging a deeper hole. If your post was only about football then why would you call out the fans and overall admission standards? By the way, check your sources before you bash a school you know nothing about because OSU is one of the toughest Universities to get into in the Midwest.

OSU Alum, that part that reads, “All students are considered under competitive standards except Ohio residents applying to an Ohio State regional campus in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, or to Ohio State ATI in Wooster” means that Ohio residents get into tOSU. Those accepted at a branch campus who graduate have “The Ohio State University” printed on their diplomas. In other words, anyone who graduates from high school in Ohio can get a tOSU diploma.

If that’s not community college, I don’t know what is. Now, I can see supporting that mission; I find it quite commendable that Ohio is allowing all of its high school graduates to attend and graduate from tOSU. Nonetheless, that doesn’t make tOSU an academic powerhouse. It is not, and never will be, because its mission is to serve such an enormous number of students—it’s the land grant and the flagship institution. Schools like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, while undoubtedly superior in USNews Rankings and the quality of student they attract, do not have such a commendable mission and are likely less diverse because of it. tOSU is a major research school, but let’s acknowledge the facts too.

No one is cheapening your education. After all, if you didn’t want to have an OSU diploma, you shouldn’t have gone there.