Football's shifting paradigm

Here's to the Football Class of 2012.

A very high percentage of the young men who signed scholarships this week to play college football for our major universities actually have a better chance to graduate than their non-athletic classmates.

Clemson, for instance, now graduates 75 percent of its football players. South Carolina graduates 68 percent. Meanwhile, less than 50 percent of regular students complete college.

Surprised?

It wasn't that long ago that college football had a disgraceful reputation for keeping young men eligible to play while failing to get them anywhere near the stage where they were handing out diplomas.

We all remember the bad old days when athletes took "Basket Weaving 101" and made a mockery of the educational system that supported their football habit. Way too many young men were simply used up by the system and discarded without an education.

Amazingly, what we're seeing today is just the opposite. Today's college football players are not only graduating on time, some of them graduate early.

Academics have suddenly become cool.

Clemson just announced its football team has a 2.53 GPA. South Carolina is bragging about its 2.54 GPA for football players.

So, are today's student-athletes smarter?

Probably not.

Among the skeptical

Indeed, there has been a paradigm shift in college football.

To put it in sports terms, the NCAA finally threw the flag on big-time football a few years ago. New rules demand better academic performance from athletes, or programs get hit with penalties even a football coach can understand — loss of scholarships.

Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised to see graduation rates on the rise. It's now part of the competition to succeed. On par with practice facilities and luxury boxes.

But are today's players really doing better in school? Or is this just another ruse?

I stand among the skeptical.

As a sports writer, I'll be the first to tell you that most college football players are not dummies. Many are fine students who earn their degrees and go on to live productive lives.

But we've all seen the others being interviewed on television, shuddered at their misuse of the language and inability to communicate, and wondered how in the world these young men manage to pass even the most basic college courses.

Spelling bee

Here's how.

When the NCAA tightened the screws on academics, college football factories responded by raising huge amounts of money to create monstrous academic support facilities that hand-carry some players through college.

Full-time academic support staffs and small armies of student tutors are employed with one simple goal — keep players eligible to play and on track to graduate.

Clemson's Tommy Bowden already has a multi-million-dollar academic support center for student-athletes only. USC's Steve Spurrier says he has to have one to be competitive.

Meanwhile, Basket Weaving has been replaced with majors like Retailing, Sport Management, African-American Studies, Sociology and Recreation Management.

So, members of the Football Class of 2012 have a much better chance of earning a college degree than many of their classmates.

Just don't ask them what paradigm means.

Or how to spell it.

Reach Ken Burger at 937-5598 or kburger@postandcourier.com.