Northwestern University gets what they deserve

[TheC]

If you want to compete in major college sports, then you should aspire to excellence. This self-imposed penalty of ridiculous academic requirements kills both of our major men's athletic programs. We never have the athletes that our competition have. Even our good teams are not nearly as athletic as their opponents. We can't or won't recruit the kinds of players it takes to compete in major college sports.

Northwestern should stand for excellence in all areas. Why do I care if a kid didn't do great in high school chemistry if he's one of the best wide receivers in the country. Why should we prevent Coach Collins from recruiting a big, athletic power forward because he didn't have time or resources to take a bunch of SAT prep classes. If they've demonstrated excellence in one area while doing their best in the classroom, then we should celebrate those kids and invite them to pursue excellence at our fine university.

Either compete or get out. If you're not going to strive for excellence by going after the best possible players, then get out of the BIG.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

If you want to compete in major college sports, then you should aspire to excellence. This self-imposed penalty of ridiculous academic requirements kills both of our major men's athletic programs. We never have the athletes that our competition have. Even our good teams are not nearly as athletic as their opponents. We can't or won't recruit the kinds of players it takes to compete in major college sports.

Northwestern should stand for excellence in all areas. Why do I care if a kid didn't do great in high school chemistry if he's one of the best wide receivers in the country. Why should we prevent Coach Collins from recruiting a big, athletic power forward because he didn't have time or resources to take a bunch of SAT prep classes. If they've demonstrated excellence in one area while doing their best in the classroom, then we should celebrate those kids and invite them to pursue excellence at our fine university.

Either compete or get out. If you're not going to strive for excellence by going after the best possible players, then get out of the BIG.

The academic requirements are higher than NCAA standards, but not “ridiculous.”

What do you think it takes to be accepted to NU as a scholarship football or basketball player?

 

[Rodenthater]

If you want to compete in major college sports, then you should aspire to excellence. This self-imposed penalty of ridiculous academic requirements kills both of our major men's athletic programs. We never have the athletes that our competition have. Even our good teams are not nearly as athletic as their opponents. We can't or won't recruit the kinds of players it takes to compete in major college sports.

Northwestern should stand for excellence in all areas. Why do I care if a kid didn't do great in high school chemistry if he's one of the best wide receivers in the country. Why should we prevent Coach Collins from recruiting a big, athletic power forward because he didn't have time or resources to take a bunch of SAT prep classes. If they've demonstrated excellence in one area while doing their best in the classroom, then we should celebrate those kids and invite them to pursue excellence at our fine university.

Either compete or get out. If you're not going to strive for excellence by going after the best possible players, then get out of the BIG.

YES!

 

[Catslash]

the self imposed nobody better than fitz will ever coach in Northwestern hurts more

 

[Pukecat]

The academic requirements are higher than NCAA standards, but not “ridiculous.”

What do you think it takes to be accepted to NU as a scholarship football or basketball player?

It is ridiculous to have an artificial standard higher than everybody else and then force players to take easy majors anyway.

 

[NJcatsfan]

No. The response to a bad season (after very good ones!) is not to blame academics. Blame bad coaching & player dev esp on offense.

 

[TheC]

No. The response to a bad season (after very good ones!) is not to blame academics. Blame bad coaching & player dev esp on offense.

Bad season? How many years have we watched football and basketball teams be clearly less athletic than their opponent? Pretty much my entire lifetime. That we've been able to be competitive every once in a while speaks volumes about the coaches and kids. Imagine if we could open up recruiting to get the level of athletes other schools have. If its good enough for Duke, why are we so damn hollier than thou?

 

[willycat]

Bad season? How many years have we watched football and basketball teams be clearly less athletic than their opponent? Pretty much my entire lifetime. That we've been able to be competitive every once in a while speaks volumes about the coaches and kids. Imagine if we could open up recruiting to get the level of athletes other schools have. If its good enough for Duke, why are we so damn hollier than thou?

Ditto! just exactly what they wiil have to do or just get out of the Big Ten.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

It is ridiculous to have an artificial standard higher than everybody else and then force players to take easy majors anyway.

Nobody forces anyone into a particular major.

 

[DarthCat]

WHAT?! This is crazy. There has never been more talent on the roster and recruiting has been consistently strong the past decade. Despite what the recruiting rankings and the opinions of other coaches say.

The problem is clearly the coaches who have all simultaneous forgotten how to coach.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

WHAT?! This is crazy. There has never been more talent on the roster and recruiting has been consistently strong the past decade. Despite what the recruiting rankings and the opinions of other coaches say.

The problem is clearly the coaches who have all simultaneous forgotten how to coach.

...which is why most folks are calling for coaching changes.

 

[DarthCat]

Oh absolutely. Clearly Hankwitz has been incorporating holding and pass interference techniques to the DBs, and Fitz’s kicker drills emphasizing hitting the uprights are mismanagement at their finest. How on earth did these hapless fools win three straight bowl games, four of the last five and have the fourth best conference record in the Big Ten over the last five seasons?! Clearly the players were ignoring them and coaching themselves in secret to overcome such ineptitude.

 

[Rodenthater]

The honest truth is that we caught every team in the west last year in a down year!

 

[FitzFan]

Holy shit is this an ignorant hot take.

Like GCG said, our academic requirements for football and basketball players are higher than NCAA minimums, but you don't need to be a high-achiever academically to receive a scholarship offer. We've offered and accepted many players over the years with composite ACT scores in the low 20s. That's barely above the nationwide average. On the flip side, we're somewhat unique in that we also attract many athletes who are also legit academic talents.

The guys we're missing out on due to academics often have composite scores in the mid- to high-teens. Don't blame the university if you're concerned about us missing out on those recruits--blame the coaches, parents, and teachers who allow those kids to graduate high school with reading comprehension that falls at-or-below 8th grade level. And please stop suggesting that the university sacrifice its academic integrity in an effort to be better at sportsball. I'd much rather abandon DI athletics for DIII or club competition than pander to the lowest common denominator and accept freak athletes who also can't read to the university.

Lastly, there's this argument floating around that our players are somehow less athletic than many of the middling teams we've played this season. I'll willing to concede that there may be an athleticism gap between our program and, say, Ohio State, but that's because Ohio State has completely sacrificed academic integrity to win games and attract the best athletes. But our players are just as athletic as the players on Purdue's team, on Illinois, on Minnesota, etc. Look at their measurables coming out of high school if you don't believe it. Our guys are just as fast and strong. The difference is coaching.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Oh absolutely. Clearly Hankwitz has been incorporating holding and pass interference techniques to the DBs, and Fitz’s kicker drills emphasizing hitting the uprights are mismanagement at their finest. How on earth did these hapless fools win three straight bowl games, four of the last five and have the fourth best conference record in the Big Ten over the last five seasons?! Clearly the players were ignoring them and coaching themselves in secret to overcome such ineptitude.

What exactly is your point, except to incessantly bitch about everything?

 

[DarthCat]

No, no. I’m agreeing with you. Our recruiting has been phenomenal, and despite having the best talent ever to wear the uniform, the coaches who have done so much with inferior talent clearly are all stupid and lazy now. Only explanation there can be.

 

[jensberg]

Our recruiting recently has not been as good as Purdue or Indiana or Minnesota especially at the skill positions

 

[gocatsgo2003]

No, no. I’m agreeing with you. Our recruiting has been phenomenal, and despite having the best talent ever to wear the uniform, the coaches who have done so much with inferior talent clearly are all stupid and lazy now. Only explanation there can be.

So “I just like to be a dick and complain incessantly.” Got it.

 

[willycat]

Holy shit is this an ignorant hot take.

Like GCG said, our academic requirements for football and basketball players are higher than NCAA minimums, but you don't need to be a high-achiever academically to receive a scholarship offer. We've offered and accepted many players over the years with composite ACT scores in the low 20s. That's barely above the nationwide average. On the flip side, we're somewhat unique in that we also attract many athletes who are also legit academic talents.

The guys we're missing out on due to academics often have composite scores in the mid- to high-teens. Don't blame the university if you're concerned about us missing out on those recruits--blame the coaches, parents, and teachers who allow those kids to graduate high school with reading comprehension that falls at-or-below 8th grade level. And please stop suggesting that the university sacrifice its academic integrity in an effort to be better at sportsball. I'd much rather abandon DI athletics for DIII or club competition than pander to the lowest common denominator and accept freak athletes who also can't read to the university.

Lastly, there's this argument floating around that our players are somehow less athletic than many of the middling teams we've played this season. I'll willing to concede that there may be an athleticism gap between our program and, say, Ohio State, but that's because Ohio State has completely sacrificed academic integrity to win games and attract the best athletes. But our players are just as athletic as the players on Purdue's team, on Illinois, on Minnesota, etc. Look at their measurables coming out of high school if you don't believe it. Our guys are just as fast and strong. The difference is coaching.

Gee most people are not saying that NU should recruit the kind of kids OSU or Illinois allow in, just have the same academic standards as schools like Duke, Vandy, Rice, Boston College, Virginia and ND.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Gee most people are not saying that NU should recruit the kind of kids OSU or Illinois allow in, just have the same academic standards as schools like Duke, Vandy, Rice, Boston College, Virginia and ND.

None of those schools have any academic restrictions whatsoever.

 

[Pukecat]

Nobody forces anyone into a particular major.

You know exactly what I mean. You didn’t go to NU. I did and knew football players.

 

[FitzFan]

Gee most people are not saying that NU should recruit the kind of kids OSU or Illinois allow in, just have the same academic standards as schools like Duke, Vandy, Rice, Boston College, Virginia and ND.

Yes, because the relaxation of academic standards at Duke, Vandy, Rice, and BC have done wonders for their respective football programs...

 

[Pukecat]

Gee most people are not saying that NU should recruit the kind of kids OSU or Illinois allow in, just have the same academic standards as schools like Duke, Vandy, Rice, Boston College, Virginia and ND.

pretty much only Stanford and NU have any standards higher than the NCAA. ND and Duke take minimum qualifiers.

 

[Pukecat]

Yes, because the relaxation of academic standards at Duke, Vandy, Rice, and BC have done wonders for their respective football programs...

All of them would beat us in football and basketball this year.

 

[willycat]

You know exactly what I mean. You didn’t go to NU. I did and knew football players.

I did attend NU and also knew a couple of players.

 

[willycat]

pretty much only Stanford and NU have any standards higher than the NCAA. ND and Duke take minimum qualifiers.

Yet they are mentioned in the same breath as NU and Stanford when academics are discussed.

 

[DarthCat]

So “I just like to be a dick and complain incessantly.” Got it.

Who’s complaining? I see the wisdom now. Fire them all. Recruiting has been the strength of this program the last decade and were squandering all that talent by bad coaching techniques and misplaced loyalty to coaches who have clearly just gotten lucky before this year. Just look at the stellar improvement in the offensive line this season alone. Image how great we’d be if the rest of the units just improved that much.

 

[phatcat]

I'm an alumnus (not "an alumni") of the university. I'd rather we suck than admit everyone. It's just not that important. We graduated 100.00% of the players. No criminals. No other BS.

What's the point of being Duke basketball and admitting Adonis or Godzilla or whatever the kid's name is? Is he somehow representing the university?

Do you want a Baylor, MSU, Minn. type of group? No thanks

If they go the other way, they will lose at least one fan.

 

[FitzFan]

All of them would beat us in football and basketball this year.

Ok? We're having an awful year. Maybe 2/4 of those teams get to a bowl game this season at 6 wins. Maybe. We've already won 10 games several times in the previous few years despite our horrible, oppressive academic restrictions. These teams recruit NCAA minimum qualifiers and have program histories that are comparable to our own.

My point is sacrificing academic integrity to accept minimum qualifiers is an ethically shitty idea and has not been effective for any of our "academic peer" institutions. It's a dumb idea proposed by a bunch of angry, reactionary guys on an internet message board following a bad loss in a bad season. These kind of knee-jerk reactions are so f***ing stupid.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

So “I just like to be a dick and complain incessantly.” Got it.

He pops up and preaches how no one on this board knows anything, yet consistently blames the players for everything. Rips them before they even step foot on campus. I guess he knows. Waiting for his weekly attack of me and then his posts getting deleted. If I can accomplish that I have done more than some of his beloved Coaches like out former OL Coach.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I'm an alumnus (not "an alumni") of the university. I'd rather we suck than admit everyone. It's just not that important. We graduated 100.00% of the players. No criminals. No other BS.

What's the point of being Duke basketball and admitting Adonis or Godzilla or whatever the kid's name is? Is he somehow representing the university?

Do you want a Baylor, MSU, Minn. type of group? No thanks

If they go the other way, they will lose at least one fan.

NU graduates 100% of its players. That’s great, but it hardly risk taking.

I don’t want a team of knuckleheads either, but I believe we can’t admit athletes that WOULD graduate from NU.

 

[Fitz51]

Holy shit is this an ignorant hot take.

/thread

 

[DarthCat]

He pops up and preaches how no one on this board knows anything, yet consistently blames the players for everything. Rips them before they even step foot on campus. I guess he knows. Waiting for his weekly attack of me and then his posts getting deleted. If I can accomplish that I have done more than some of his beloved Coaches like out former OL Coach.

Blame the players for these losses?! That’s crazy talk! This is clearly one of the top 5 talented teams in the Big Ten. It’s clearly all bad coaching and referees conspiring against us, bringing this group to 1-8.

The coaches have just been getting lucky all these years, and with the influx of even better talent these last few classes, the best in NU‘s history, the coaches have just got even lazier, just phoning it in.

 

[Fitz51]

If a school that considers major athletic team success to be a foremost goal of the school is your thing, there are others to back. This one has never and is never going to be it. It’s one of the things one accepts as an NU fan.

 

[lunker35]

No, no. I’m agreeing with you. Our recruiting has been phenomenal, and despite having the best talent ever to wear the uniform, the coaches who have done so much with inferior talent clearly are all stupid and lazy now. Only explanation there can be.

Yeah our coaching is complete crap and needs to change now. Not at the end of the season, but now. It needs to happen immediately. Put me on record as not giving the school another dime if they don’t make a change at latest when the season ends. I’ll be done with basketball, football, and the ridiculous mandatory donation.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

You know exactly what I mean. You didn’t go to NU. I did and knew football players.

I knew all the players.

 

[Fitz51]

I knew all the players.

Me, too, because I bought a program!

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Who’s complaining? I see the wisdom now. Fire them all. Recruiting has been the strength of this program the last decade and were squandering all that talent by bad coaching techniques and misplaced loyalty to coaches who have clearly just gotten lucky before this year. Just look at the stellar improvement in the offensive line this season alone. Image how great we’d be if the rest of the units just improved that much.

Tripling down on being a dick. Nice.

 

[FeralFelidae]

pretty much only Stanford and NU have any standards higher than the NCAA. ND and Duke take minimum qualifiers.

What about the service academies?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

What about the service academies?

They have higher academic requirements than NCAA minimums, but also specific rules that make it easier to recruit (more eval days, etc.). Also not subject to scholarship limits because everyone is on scholarship.