Filed under: Michigan Football, Big 10, Featured Stories, The Word
Earlier today we pointed out a piece by the Ann Arbor News
documenting questionable academic practices within Michigan's seemingly pristine athletic department. Individually and collectively, none of the revelations are particularly egregious or damning. They do, however, pour water on Michigan's claims to moral superiority.
The major fallout here, that I see, is twofold:
1)Schadenfreude time (which I don't particularly care to engage in)
2)CYA time for everyone else
I think most college sports realists understand that some of Michigan's methods to accommodate and buffer the eligibility of their student athletes are common practice (
and others are scams). Whether they're right or wrong or in-between is up to much interpretation and hand-wringing. Feel free to take a side and argue it.
Regardless, this is a big story. A big name got "caught", a big name that otherwise tends to play things on the level. Downriver you can see this series potentially inspiring copycat exposé series across the college landscape. The
Ann Arbor News is going to be getting some awards for this from various media organizations. I can see other newspapers, weeklies, magazines or television stations conducting similar, fruitful investigations elsewhere.
Think schools in places like Norman, Austin, Los Angeles, Seattle, Athens and so on aren't a little nervous today? Collectively these and many other college programs may be operating mostly within the rules, like Michigan. But their own methods to stay competitive might prove equally embarrassing and head-scratching. All it takes is a dedicated newspaper or two to really kill the mojo for any of several prominent and successful athletic departments.
This series provides the opening for other organizations to dig deeper not just at Michigan but around the country.
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