Ohio State - What the Heck is Going on Over There

Wow, if this is not a glaring warning beacon to recruits, I don't know what is. And this isn't even the M.Clarett situation. Story here.

IN SIX academic quarters at Ohio State, Maldonado had earned a decent number of credits (his 57 were the equivalent of about 40 at a semester school). He compiled a 2.3 GPA and had never lost his eligibility. But his coursework included four credits for playing football, three for Tressel's Coaching Football class, 10 for remedial reading, 10 for remedial math and three for Issues Affecting Student Athletes. Six other credits wouldn't transfer because he earned D's in two classes. Maldonado couldn't understand how he had earned only 17 transferable credits in two years. Even today the number pinballs around his head. "What kind of degree can you get from Ohio State if none of your classes count at other colleges?" he asks.

Not much of one, according to The Drake Group, an NCAA watchdog. Members of the organization refer to schools like Ohio State as "football factories" that offer soft courses designed to keep players on the field. (See sidebar on page 120 for a comparison of Big Ten programs.) "The purpose isn't to educate and graduate," says Drake Group associate director David Ridpath. "They're eligibility mills."

This kid ended up transferring to Maryland, working his butt off to qualify and earned a 'ship at MD. Here's what the Fridge had to say:

Friedgen was impressed. He had seen his share of transfers over the years, but none with such a barren transcript. "It wasn't his fault," the coach says. "They had him in a bunch of classes that he shouldn't have been in."

Maldonado says the curriculum was not his idea. "Over there, they just put you in classes," he says. "I let them take care of my schedule.

I wish I wouldn't have."