Big-money college sports are a fraud (never pass up an opportunity to punch Michigan in the gut...)

Right before the 2006 elections, then Chairman Rep. Bill Thomas, of the House Committee on Ways and Means, sent a letter to Myles Brand, NCAA president, questioning why the NCAA received tax-exempt status despite the billions in revenue it brought in through television and tickets, and whether or not student-athletes really got educated. Chairman Thomas asked some good questions:

Well, Brand sent back a 25 page rambling response which I won't bother to quote because he never answered, but today I believe we have an answer of sorts. Today is Selection Sunday, the beginning of a nationwide drop in office productivity caused by the NCAA Mens' Basketball Tournament. I also noticed today that the New York Times picked up on the first of a four part series  by the Ann Arbor News about Michigan's dismal record of supporting the athlete part of "student-athlete." Quoth "The Quad," NYT's College Sports blog:

On the same day that N.C.A.A. kicks off its flagship event, one of the ugly realities of college athletics has surfaced.

The Ann Arbor News began the first of a four-day series looking at Michigan's academics for athletes. The initial story reveals a pattern of academic shortcuts available through an athletic-friendly professor. 

The Ann Arbor News article is rather disheartening, and hits close to home, too. To sum it up, a professor there has a habit of allowing athletes to start "independent study" classes late in the semester in order to keep their eligibility. The professor, John Hagen of Michigan's Psychology department, either has very low standards or only accepts very gifted students. From the article itself: 

? Three former athletic department employees said Hagen's independent study courses are sometimes used by academic support staff to boost the grade point averages of athletes in danger of becoming academically ineligible to compete in sports.

? Athletes have enrolled in independent studies with Hagen several weeks beyond the normal deadline to add classes, which is 21 days after a semester begins. For example, in the winter 2005 semester that began Jan. 5 and ended April 19, two football players enrolled in independent studies with Hagen on March 18.

Now, as a former student-athlete at Wisconsin (in rowing, without a scholarship,) I can understand how an athlete may need to pick up an independent study to keep his or her credit requirement up if a class is not going well. I did so myself on a few occasions, such as when I took a class that I thought I might enjoy outside my major but it turned out to be way too hard for me (aka a few math and CS classes). On the other hand, when I took the independent study classes (which were actually rather difficult considering I had to design the course of study myself) I actually did the work. I regularly met with the professors, who I still consider to be some of the best I ever had, because in addition to the independent study classes I took regular classes from them, in my major. My work was evaluated, progress tracked, and eventually graded fairly. On the other hand, Professor Hagen didn't seem to care much for grading:

? The amount of time some athletes said they spent on independent study work fell short of guidelines listed on the psychology department's Web site.

? The News analyzed transcripts from 29 athletes who are either currently enrolled at Michigan, or left the school within the past three years. Twenty one of the athletes took 32 graded courses from Hagen - 25 independent study courses and seven standard classes. They averaged a grade of 3.62 in the professor's courses, compared to an overall grade point average of 2.57 in the athletes' other classes. No athlete received a grade worse than a B-minus from Hagen.

At least I earned my grades. I still have the papers on my hard drive somewhere, if anyone cares. That's right. Original research papers. What did Professor Hagen teach?

Quarterback Chad Henne, wideout Mario Manningham, hockey playerChad Kolarik and softball ace Jennie Ritter are just a few of the Wolverines who have taken independent studies with Hagen, as haveJake Long and Shawn Crable, two of the captains on last season's football team.

When asked what they learned in Hagen's courses, some athletes described being taught how to take notes, use a day planner, make a calendar and manage their time.

In many cases, athletes said the main content of these courses was study skills and time management, although Hagen called the material "learning styles."

Not only do I have another reason to laugh at Michigan now, but something tells me that now Ranking Member Thomas will not miss this article, nor will Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) fail to take notice.

The NCAA might have to deal with some off-court action this month as well. 

Go Badgers!