Academic Consistency - where is it?

Want an eye opener? Mark Alesia of the Indianapolis Star did a study of colleges (that reported data) that let in athletes with qualifying grades / scores below that colleges minimum standards. He looked at the general population, the entire student-athlete population and then just football.

Here's the chart with results for 31 schools, based on the most recent data points of that schoo - PDF here. Some of the most interesting data points include:

University of Georgia in 1999/2000 allowed 7% of their general student population in with lower standards, while 78% of their overall student-athlete population got in without meeting university standards. The kicker - 94% of the football players admitted to the University of Georgia did NOT meet UGAg's minimum admission standards.

Georgia Tech allowed no exceptions (0% statistically) for the student population, 9% of the student-athlete population and also 9% for football players (data from 2004/2005).

Here are some other schools with high percentages of football players not meeting minimum standards - Cal (95%), FSU (65%), KY (64%), Ok(81%), Texas A&M (94%).

Wow. Just wow. Don't forget the SEC's move to lower standards even further. So while UGAg fans will trumpet that their standards are higher than NCAA minimums, it turns out that the point is moot - if you can tote the rock, you'll be a lock.

Here's more interesting background.