The "Academic BCS"

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Whiskey, your comments please.

Northwestern, Northern Illinois Take The Top Spots in the Academic BCS | TIME.com

Also, how the hell does Boise State only graduate 26% of the regualr student population??

 

[ThePiombino]

Whiskey, your comments please.

Northwestern, Northern Illinois Take The Top Spots in the Academic BCS | TIME.com

Also, how the hell does Boise State only graduate 26% of the regualr student population??

The potatoes aren't going to harvest themselves.

 

[WaveDomer]

Whiskey, your comments please.

Northwestern, Northern Illinois Take The Top Spots in the Academic BCS | TIME.com

Also, how the hell does Boise State only graduate 26% of the regualr student population??

Boise State is basically a community college. For instance, I work with a number of late 20's and 30 year olds who have, at some point, taken classes at BSU. Many don't continue or they take a few years off or whatever. So I would guess that the reason they graduate so little is because of this. A ton of people here "take classes" at BSU.

 

[WaveDomer]

The potatoes aren't going to harvest themselves.

J.R. Simplot died as the oldest billionaire on the Forbes 400, pretty much due to potatoes. If you like McDonald's fries, chances are they are because of his company. Don't knock the potato.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Aside from the baseline numbers, you can certainly question a methodology that gives more credence to campus context than raw performance, which puts Northern Illinois, with its 66% federal graduation rate for football, above Notre Dame, at 83% (Northern Illinois has a 83% GSR, while Notre Dame’s GSR is 97%).

That quote just about sums it up. Their methodology is designed to reward those football programs that graduate their African-American players at a higher rate than the general student body, which leads to some perverse outcomes; Northern Illinois, for instance, scores better than ND simply because the minority graduation rates for its general student population are so poor.

The ranking provided is useless because it's not based on an objective baseline metric.

 

[ThePiombino]

J.R. Simplot died as the oldest billionaire on the Forbes 400, pretty much due to potatoes. If you like McDonald's fries, chances are they are because of his company. Don't knock the potato.

Couldn't pass up a cheap joke. I bow to the potato.

 

[WaveDomer]

Couldn't pass up a cheap joke. I bow to the potato.

I know. I'm just messing.

 

[bobbyok1]

Instead, the New America Foundation bases its rankings on several factors: how a football team’s graduation rate compares to that of the school’s overall male student body, how a team’s black-white graduation gap compares to the male black-white graduation gap in the general student population, and the spread between a football team’s black graduation rate and the school’s overall graduation rate for black men. “Our formula is the only one out there that puts these statistics into context,” says Alex Holt, an education researcher at the New America Foundation. (New America’s formula gives less weight to a school’s Academic Progress Rate, which it considers a less rigorous test, than actually graduating).

So Northern Illinois scores major points because football players graduate at a higher rate (66%) than the Northern Illinois student body at large (51%). At Northern Illinois, 72% of white players graduate, while 63% of black football players graduate: that’s a nine-point difference. In the general population, 56% of white male students at Northern Illinois graduate, compared to 30% of black male students. That’s a 26-point difference for the student body, compared to a nine-point difference for the football team: again, New America credits Northern Illinois football for outperforming the rest of the school. Also, while 63% of Northern Illinois’ black football players graduate, just 30% of black male students graduate overall. That 33-point difference propels the Huskies to the top of the standings.



This is just plain dumb. I would not give this ranking system any credibility whatsoever. Notre Dame outperforms Northern Illinois in every way possible, yet because of some convoluted scoring system they have created to ignore common sense, Northern Illinois is ranked higher. What a joke. Here is a true comparison.

Notre Dame

African American Players GSR- 99%
Caucasian Players GSR- 97%

Northern Illinois

African American Players GSR- 63%
Caucasian Players GSR- 72%

How exactly is Northern Illinois outperforming Notre Dame and Stanford again?

 

[Jason Pham]

the New America Foundation bases its rankings on several factors: how a football team’s graduation rate compares to that of the school’s overall male student body, how a team’s black-white graduation gap compares to the male black-white graduation gap in the general student population, and the spread between a football team’s black graduation rate and the school’s overall graduation rate for black men.

So Northern Illinois scores major points because football players graduate at a higher rate (66%) than the Northern Illinois student body at large (51%). At Northern Illinois, 72% of white players graduate, while 63% of black football players graduate: that’s a nine-point difference.

According to these metrics, a school that graduates none of its non-athlete students but 25% of its student-athlete population would be near the top. Meanwhile a school that graduates everybody, regardless of their status as an athlete or their race would sit at the bottom.

Not sure if serious.

 

[Old Man Mike]

This whatever-it-is inspires utter befuddlement in me. I suppose that there are reasons why some analysts would come up with such ideas, but somehow a gigantic reality has swished right through their ears: any school not graduating a high percentage of its students cannot be said to deserve some academic accolade --- even if its football players might "outperform" the general mediocrity displayed by the entire institution. The idea that one would say: "Oh the university itself stinks, but the athletes do a little better" and then give out an "award", reels my consciousness into some 1984 whack-speak world. Comparison as to how athletes are doing in different universities should be compared to what exactly the athletes are accomplishing ---- DDDUHHHHH. Saying "well, at least they're TRYING hard" is OK, but as Yoda says: Either DO or DO NOT, there is no TRY.

 

[ThePiombino]

Just goes to show that statistics can be used to make ANY point, no matter how egregious.

 

[Grahambo]

Boise State is ranked as the 614th best university by Forbes and the 62nd best school in west region by US News.

Yeah.......

 

[sparkyND]

FSU -5: ahahahahahaha

 

[connor_in]

Couldn't pass up a cheap joke. I bow to the potato.

You better...remember, this is an IRISH forum...if no potatoes, then the Irish don't exist...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

You better...remember, this is an IRISH forum...if no potatoes, then the Irish don't exist...

Technically, "no potatoes" is why the Irish came to this country in the first place. Without the potato famine, we might be the Ramblers or the Fighting Studebakers today.

 

[ulukinatme]

If the football players are graduating at a higher rate than the student body at Northern Illinois, you gotta wonder if and what classes/perks the team may be getting over a normal student

 

[dshans]

... we might be the Ramblers or the Fighting Studebakers today.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n1bIhiQglvo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Rattle-proof is a good description of the Irish season this year.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/D4W7oZBhAJg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Beep Beep, 'Bama ...

 

[phork]

So we actually get penalized for graduating 100% of our African American players? Someone hide that stat from recruits please!

All kidding aside, how freaking stupid.

 

[Irish#1]

Technically, "no potatoes" is why the Irish came to this country in the first place. Without the potato famine, we might be the Ramblers or the Fighting Studebakers today.

And we know what happened to both of these.

 

[Martibhoy]

Technically, "no potatoes" is why the Irish came to this country in the first place. Without the potato famine, we might be the Ramblers or the Fighting Studebakers today.

It wasnt a famine, it was genocide!

MANY PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE GREAT HUNGER IN IRELAND
THAT CAUSED WIDESPREAD STARVATION FROM 1845-1852.


HOWEVER, MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THAT, AT THE SAME TIME, IRISH FARMS WERE PRODUCING PLENTY OF OTHER FOODS INCLUDING CORN, WHEAT, BARLEY, AND BEEF. THIS FOOD WAS CARTED AWAY, PAST THE STARVING MILLIONS, AND TAKEN TO ENGLAND.

SOME PROTESTANT CHURCH MISSIONS IN ENGLAND SOUGHT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION BY TRYING TO "PROSELYTIZE" THE STARVING CATHOLICS.

THE STARVING VICTIMS WERE OFFERED FOOD IN RETURN FOR RENOUNCING THEIR CATHOLIC FAITH AND CONVERTING. DURING THE FAMINE THERE WERE MORE THAN 1250 MISSIONS IN IRELAND FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONVERTING CATHOLICS.

Sassenach Bastards!!!!!!!!!

 

[zbikowski88]

Florida State last in 'Academic BCS' - ACC Blog - ESPN

The folks at the New America Foundation have ranked the Top 25 teams in the final BCS standings based on academic performance. Florida State brings up the rear, at No. 25 -- the only team with a negative point total.

 

[rikkitikki08]

Florida State last in 'Academic BCS' - ACC Blog - ESPN

The folks at the New America Foundation have ranked the Top 25 teams in the final BCS standings based on academic performance. Florida State brings up the rear, at No. 25 -- the only team with a negative point total.

Thats not suprising

 

[drayer54]

What would you rather have on your wall, Notre Dame or Northern Illinois? Stanford or Boise State?

This is stupid.

 

[dshans]

It wasnt a famine, it was genocide!

MANY PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE GREAT HUNGER IN IRELAND
THAT CAUSED WIDESPREAD STARVATION FROM 1845-1852.


HOWEVER, MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THAT, AT THE SAME TIME, IRISH FARMS WERE PRODUCING PLENTY OF OTHER FOODS INCLUDING CORN, WHEAT, BARLEY, AND BEEF. THIS FOOD WAS CARTED AWAY, PAST THE STARVING MILLIONS, AND TAKEN TO ENGLAND.

SOME PROTESTANT CHURCH MISSIONS IN ENGLAND SOUGHT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION BY TRYING TO "PROSELYTIZE" THE STARVING CATHOLICS.

THE STARVING VICTIMS WERE OFFERED FOOD IN RETURN FOR RENOUNCING THEIR CATHOLIC FAITH AND CONVERTING. DURING THE FAMINE THERE WERE MORE THAN 1250 MISSIONS IN IRELAND FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONVERTING CATHOLICS.

Sassenach Bastards!!!!!!!!!

As an American with Irish born paternal grandparents, I thank you for this. I know that I can be a bit strident and overbearing (and loud, crass and profane) when it comes to Irish-British history and conflict so I tend to bypass discussions of the matter.

I happened to be at the ND – Stanford game (1999?) in Palo Alto when the half time show included some "humor" that made light of the famine. It resulted in the Stanford band being temporarily banned from games at ND as well as at home.

I am a fan of satire and parody (think Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" or early SNL's "Bass-O-Matic") but the skit presented was weak and far below what I expected from Stanford's intellectual capabilities.

Though my grandparents emigrated some years after, I am a bit touchy about the subject.

 

[irishfanjho15]

Florida State last in 'Academic BCS' - ACC Blog - ESPN

The folks at the New America Foundation have ranked the Top 25 teams in the final BCS standings based on academic performance. Florida State brings up the rear, at No. 25 -- the only team with a negative point total.

Darby, tell me again about that all important degree you wanted?