<p>Sam, The NCAA keeps an eye on schools by using a formula called the Academic Progress Rate (or APR- look it up on Wikipedia) which takes into consideration graduation rates and academic performance. Here is the raw data...</p>
<p>Note: Players who leave early for the NBA do NOT count against the school's graduation rate in the APR formula. The main reason you cite that NU has a higher graduation rate is because there are so many players who leave Duke for the NBA. The APR accounts for that.</p>
<p>The Big 10 has elite programs. Illinois, Michigan State, and Indiana to add on. I'm not saying that the Pac 10 is weak by any means, in fact it is a very strong sports conference, but it is just hard for Northwestern, especially in basketball, with their competitors.</p>
<p>The men's swim team has 5 swimmers at nationals - 3 of which are underclassmen.</p>
<p>As for BB, while Stanford's higher academic standards does limit the talent pool from which to recruit (as opposed to Duke), Stanford has managed to consistently get 3 star recruits with a no. of 4 or 5 stars every couple of years (Stanford currently has two 5* and two 4* recruits on its roster - the rest are 3* recruits).</p>
<p>The 'Cats, otoh, have been having trouble getting legit 3* recruits (though Carmody has slowly been making inroads with local talent).</p>
<p>While the B10 is tough, it's not impossible for NU to make go above .500 in the conf. (which is neccessary for a NCAA bid) - the team for a few years went .500 (or close to it) in conference play with Vedran Vukusic leading th way, but the problem has been fielding more than one all-B10 caliber player at a time (if Vedran and Coble had played together - then we would be talking about something) and getting a big body to grab some rebounds (the "Cats are woefully undersized which is why they always get trounced on the boards).</p>
<p>i was considering emailing the swim coach about the team, but i know i cant make it as a freshman so it probably wouldn't help me out. but i hope if start training again i can make it as a sophomore or junior.</p>
<p>i am a little bummed to see they don't have a hockey team though. you would think being in the north that they would have one. anyone know of club teams? or if people play on the lake or something during the winter? that would be pretty cool if they did</p>
<p>The basketball team is a perennial loser and is hard to really get excited about.</p>
<p>Some of my best memories from college, however, are of football Saturdays, specifically my junior year when we came from nowhere to beat undefeated defending National Champion Ohio State on national TV. It doesn't get much better than that :-)</p>
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The basketball team is a perennial loser and is hard to really get excited about.
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<p>That's a bit harsh. For much of Carmpody's tenure, the BB team has been able to defend homecourt (including beating a no. of the ranked B10 opponents).</p>
<p>Here's a good article on the state of NU BB.</p>
<p>Btw, the men's relay team broke the NCAA Record in the 400 Medley Relay fomerly held by UT (of which 3 of swimmers went on to set the world record and win the Gold medal in the 400 Medley Relay at the 2004 Olympics in Athens).</p>