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What happened, as was detailed in the story is a perfect example of all
that is wrong with college athletics today. Basically, a couple of
"big-time" college administrators went to work at a medium sized Div 1A
university and decided to legitimatize the school by bringing it "Big-
time" football. This at the expense of a decent, hardworking coach who
cared about the school, it's athletes and the area.
If you want to send me your address I'd be glad to send you a copy of
the article.
Steve
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| Thanks, Steve, for sending me the SI article. Your summary in the
previous reply was on the money. For those of you interested in the
details:
Dan Simrell, head football coach at Toledo since 1982, was fired for
"not winning enough." His record at UT was 49-38-2. The '89 season
ended at 6-5, beating eventual MAC champs Ball State, winning four of
their last five, and has 15 starters returning. At the beginning of
the year, they were picked to finish 6th in the conference; they ended
tied for second.
Before the season, AD Al Bohl (who was ass. AD at Ohio St for three
years) "gave Simrell the ultimate bottom line: Have a 7-4 record or be
gone. Had Bowling Green not passed for an 11-yard TD with 20 seconds
left to beat Toledo 27-23, the Rockets would have been 7-4, won the MAC
and played in the California Bowl."
Instead, he was fired four days after the season. Fans were in an
uproar. They made T-shirts and buttons in Simrell's favor, ran ads,
and collected 22,500 signatures that were all ignored by UT president
Frank Horton. Horton was president at Oklahoma from 85-88.
Here's the contradiction that really peeves me. Bohl says, "He doesn't
deserve to continue as coach, because his coaching was not good enough.
And I had the guts to make the right decision. Our football team has
to break out of the mind-set of accepting the average, and strive for
excellence." Then later in the article he says, "I'm not trying to be
Ohio State or Michigan. It's just we should be the benchmark for the
MAC."
Horse poop! The MAC will never be better than average in football because
if you're a better-than-average player in that part of the country these
days, you go to Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, WVU, Pitt, etc.
Who wants to play football for Ball State, Bowling Green, Toledo, Ohio
University? Who? Nobody, and from the looks of some of the teams and
games, that's exactly who is and will continue to play for the MAC--a
bunch of football nobodies.
Am I out of line? Does the MAC ever stand a chance of gaining national
prominence?
--dan'l
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| Anyone see 21 Jump Street last night? It's the first time I ever watched the
show, and that was because Kareem was going to be on. ANyway, it told
the story of the hypothetical "best" college basketball team in the country,
with the "best" college coach. Kareem's role was the new Athletic Director
and simultaneously these young cops, posing as a tutor and a wrestler
were making a sting operation for fixing of the hoops team's game.
The story was naive from the point of view of anyone who has been watching
what college athletics has become, but a decent showpiece for prime time
TV. The basketball team fell into every trapping you've heard about:
high-pressure recruiting, point-shaving, grade-fixing, cocaine, etc,
etc.
The worst was seeing how young kids, who idolized the players, thought it
was the greatest thing in the world that the star player, kicked off the team
for point-shaving by Kareem but allowed to continue his education, dropped
out of school and applied for the NBA hardship draft. The kids thought it
great that he was going to make a million in the draft lottery. At the same time
the player couldn't read.
One hopes there aren't schools who are guilty of all of this at once. The
point of the show, though, was that the pressures on all concerned, from
player to coach to teacher to AD are not going to change under the
present system. Few people will stand up and be honest when there's
so much money riding.
Dan
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| Gee Dan, for once you and I agree on something ;^)
21 Jump Street is a great show, which tackles a lot of issues, in the
drama scenario of a bunch of young undercover cops.
Last night's show was particularly good, especially in the portrayal of
some of the recruiting techniques, some of the coverups, and some of
the corruption that happens in college sport.
If you get a chance to catch it on the re-runs, please do so...
Chainsaw_on_TV
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