<p>Duke is not going to leave the ACC. We field competitive if not top-tier teams in nearly every other sport except Football. </p>
<p>Every non-football varsity athlete and those who enjoy their existence on campus ought to go to every football game, as they owe a debt to those boys taking one in the teeth so that they might play in one of the top D1 conferences in the nation.</p>
<p>For the past decade, the Duke Athletic Department, and AD Joe Alleva, have urged patience with the football program. Alleva said they needed their facilities upgraded, and he got the Yoh Football Center. He said they needed relaxed admissions standards, and the Admissions Office complied with more recruited players falling in the bottom range of Duke' standards. He said they needed to upgrade their coaching staff, and he fired Fred Goldsmith in favor of first-time coach Carl Franks. Then, when it became clear that Carl Franks was a disaster, he said the program needed a change and he promoted Ted Roof, another first-time head coach.</p>
<p>Ten years, tens of millions of dollars invested, and this year's team is all we have to show for it? Alleva's been given most everything he's asked for to make Duke Football competitive, and the reality is he hasn't delivered. Add Duke's lacrosse problems, steroid abuse in baseball, and the general athletic-academic divide that exists on campus an it's clear that changes are needed in the Athletic Department.</p>
<p>As John Feinstein wrote in The Duke Chronicle on Friday, Duke should drop out of the ACC in football. Does anyone seriously think that the ACC would kick out Duke? The ACC needs Duke more than Duke needs the ACC. Imagine what Duke could do if it redeployed the 80 full ride scholarships that are accorded the football team each year. Imagine the message it would send across the NCAA if Duke simply stated what everyone already knows: that a competitive Division I football team is incompatible with high academic standards.</p>
<p>As every Duke student knows, the university occasionally compromises it admissions and academic standards in the pursuit of athletic glory. Exhibit A is the Duke men's basketball team, a team replete with students who fall well below Duke's average admission standards. Duke athletics are important and deserved to be supported, but not at the expense of academics. Eruditio et Religio, not Athletico et Dollaro.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the academic statistics on the football players? Im not sure they are as smart as some of you make them out to be. By no means am I making assumptions or calling them dumb, just wondering. (Certainly smarter than Miami and such, just not like Ivy athletes).</p>
<p>Still, this is no excuse. Stanford use to be great at football in the 90s (although they stink now too).</p>
<p>Either way, its pretty clear our offense stinks. We will lose a lot of games.</p>
<p>jbduke - I can't disagree with a thing in your post. I have not read Feinstein's column yet. If there is a way to opt out of ACC football without losing status in the rest of our sports it should be at least seriously considered. </p>
<p>If you are pointing to a specific admissions case on the b-ball team, let's use Sean Dockery. I believe he graduated in 4 years, which is testament to the program and his own willingness to overcome a less than prepartory high school environment, and hit a game-winning shot that was arguably the high point of the entire Duke campus this last year.
Brian Davis, another b-ball player from the National Championship team in 91-92 just became the majority owner of an NBA franchise 15 years after graduating.
Shane Battier and Elton Brand are two of the most well-spoken and intelligent players in the NBA, in addition to their on-court talent. I expect Battier to assume a top leadership position in sports or even politics before he is all done.</p>
<p>Are these students who should have been turned away because their SAT wasn't in the middle 50 profile? </p>
<p>Football is a unique animal - as I have posted earlier, when the ACC expanded to 12 teams for football, the writing was on the wall for the 'basketball schools' that founded the conference and made it's name, and that's why Duke, UNC, and Wake fought it. I agree that the ACC loves the prestige of having Duke as member, just as the Big 10 and Pac 10 would never let Northwestern or Stanford get away. </p>
<p>Besides, without us, who would they have to hate? Maryland fans would have to learn to spell more than a four letter word.<br>
It would be like the UN without the US...alright maybe France :)</p>
<p><a href="http://stanford.scout.com/2/355659.html%5B/url%5D">http://stanford.scout.com/2/355659.html</a>
Here are the graduation rates:
Baseball 95%
Football 85%
Basketball 58%</p>
<p>Basketball is probably skewed by the players we have going into the NBA. We... uh, don't have that problem with football.</p>
<p>(i.e. some of the basketball players who don't graduate probably could have.)</p>
<p>Not to call them academic superstars or anything. They're clearly not. I just mean that 58% is probably a little lower than they would earn absent that factor.</p>
<p>Okay here's what I know since I know some of the football guys and the baseball guys. The baseball guys are definitely intelligent guys...i mean 1200 to 1300 SATs (he also got a 31 or so on ACT), and according to one of them there was a baseball guy that got around a 1560 (old SATs). There are of course also the really smart football players. i know one that is taking Math 32...Then again some of the football players don't have the best stat...i know one that didnt exceed 1600 on the new SATs...so it depends...there are always smart ones and not as smart ones.</p>
<p>"The Blue Devils lost to a Division I-AA team two weeks ago. How are we expected to play a competitive game against Alabama or Florida State?</p>
<p>A schedule dominated by Ivy League schools and other academic rivals would better serve our school's needs.</p>
<p>All in all, we don't aim to be in the BCS championship, but we should be able to compete.</p>
<p>And score some points..."</p>
<p>Sorry, but you folks can't keep up with the best of the brightest; the winners of the 1939 Rose Bowl!!! Columbia 7, Stanford 0.</p>
<p>1939? Are you kidding me? The level of competition was a joke. How many black athletes were allowed to be on any team anyway? ;)</p>
<p>And don't forget the 1920 Rose Bowl: Harvard 7, Oregon 6. </p>
<p>(Many of the west coast fans objected to Harvard's "rough play".)</p>