Academic success

John Heisler, senior associate athletics director

University of Notre Dame

Indianapolis Star

“We don’t think it’s impossible to have a student-athlete, football or otherwise, be successful on the field and in the classroom. If you’re admitted here and you go to class, the odds are huge that you’re going to graduate.”

Tom Bradley, defensive coordinator

Pennsylvania State University

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“I’ll guarantee you one thing — if you’re a football player here, (coach Joe Paterno) knows your GPA better than he knows your 40 time.”

R. Gerald Turner, president

Southern Methodist University

Philadelphia Inquirer

Discussing the balance between academic and athletics success:

“Too many schools continue to reap financial rewards for postseason participation while failing to educate the athletes who have enabled that success. For example, the $10 million reward proposal (for a proposed incentives package based on academic achievement) represents only 3 percent of the total amount of money being distributed on the basis of athletics success in big-time football and basketball this year.”

Loyalty issues

Ray Gant, football student-athlete

University of Georgia

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Discussing a shift in loyalties among some student-athletes away from their school and team to their own desires:

“Loyalty is not like it was in the Bear Bryant days. Those guys would chew a leg off for you. ...

“Coaches need to eat, too. Guys aren’t playing that were highly touted when they came out of high school. They are not seeing the field and they’re not happy and they’re saying, ‘I could’ve gone somewhere else.’ But Coach is going to play the best player. Coach needs to feed his family, too.

“Players can take that however they want. That turns into selfishness and not being a team player. They feel they could be doing better somewhere else, when in reality harder work more times than dedication (is what it takes.)”

Minority hiring in football

Editorial

USA Today

“Let’s strip away the veneer: College football’s (hiring) record is the product of the subtle biases and outright racism that permeate the hiring process. While it is difficult to point to a single university decision and argue that racist attitudes were pivotal, it is impossible to look at the aggregate numbers and conclude they were not. ...

“The booster clubs, big-dollar donors, trustees, state government officials and others who influence college athletics are largely white and, at best, disinterested.

“The NCAA has finally begun to tiptoe toward the problem. Even so, it’s still far from the direct approach employed by the NFL and proven in other industries: Break through the old-boy network and give minorities a fair shot.

“The NFL requires that each program with a vacancy interview at least one minority candidate. The NCAA does not even require that universities publicize who is being interviewed and who is playing a role in hiring. ...

“What would-be college coaches want is simple. It is the same as what they would want for their players: a chance to fairly compete and show the world what they can do.

“The fact that they are denied that opportunity is a national embarrassment, and a marker of racism’s lingering grip a half-century after desegregation began.”