Bulls face no penalties from APR scores

TAMPA – USF faces no penalties as a result of the NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores released Monday, though the Bulls will have to continue to improve their scores in football and men’s basketball, two areas of concern.

The Bulls had three sports – football, men’s basketball and baseball – score under the NCAA’s threshold of 925 points out of 1000. Football’s score – based on the 2003-04 through 2006-07 school years – improved from 910 to 917, and men’s basketball improved from 898 to 904. The APR score measures a school’s ability to keep its athletes eligible and retain them in the program.

The school received a conditional waiver from the NCAA in football and baseball, and did not face any potential sanctions in men’s basketball because it had no “0-for-2” athletes, meaning a player who becomes ineligible to compete and does not return to school. To avoid penalties that could include a reduction in scholarships next season, the football score for the 2007-08 school year must be 937, while the baseball score must be 945. USF senior associate athletic director Bill McGillis said both sports are projected to exceed those mandated scores after a review of spring grades.

Two of USF’s teams barely missed a perfect score of 1000, as softball scored a 997 – one missed point over a four-year span – and women’s golf scored a 993, also one short of a perfect score. USF’s softball team was recognized by the NCAA for finishing in the top 10 percent of all softball teams nationally.

Largely because of heavy turnover during the transition from Conference USA to the Big East, USF’s football score remains the lowest among the eight teams in the Big East, while the men’s basketball score is second-lowest among the 16 schools in the conference, ahead of only Cincinnati. Only four of USF’s 17 teams – softball, men’s tennis and both golf teams -- scored in the upper half of scores for their sport nationwide.

USF’s football score ranks the Bulls fifth out of the seven Division I-A programs in Florida. In order, they are Miami (969), Florida (962), Florida State (954), Central Florida (937), USF (917), Florida Atlantic (915) and Florida International (887). FIU was penalized nine football scholarships for its score of 889 last year – the most scholarships penalized against any sport in any school in the country -- and saw its score drop with this year’s scores.

The Big East football scores? Rutgers leads the way with a 977, followed by Syracuse (955), Connecticut (950), Pittsburgh (945), Louisville (943), Cincinnati (939), West Virginia (935) and USF (917). Basketball? It’s Villanova 990, Notre Dame 971, Syracuse 955, Marquette 954, Rutgers 953, Connecticut 946, Georgetown 945, Louisville 941, Providence 938, Pittsburgh 935, West Virginia 932, Seton Hall 924, DePaul 918, St. John’s 918, USF 904, Cincinnati 872.

Comments

[ClwtrBull]

Who's Greg Auman?

Just kidding.... Nice work!

[Ken]

Another fan of GA.

[DELdaBULL]

I also think you are the best GA!

[G.A.]

Thanks for the kind words, Richard. Ken O'Brien has nothing on you ...

[Richard Todd]

So I guess the real theme here is the more GA writes and researchs USF the more abuse he takes ? I for one am amazed at the amount of coverage Greg provides on USF. This blogg has become a great source and a regular read for me. Good or bad keep posting because it means there are readers and that is everything a writer can ask for. I don't know about glass houses but I do believe in the the old passage of "Let ye who have no sin cast the first stone" so I guess we have alot of pure posters on here. LOL

[xr4ti_007]

For all you knuckleheads that want to gripe and complain about what school gets what APR score, read this story about one of the most storied football programs in the country. If it happens at Meeechigan, it can and does happen everywhere. See below:

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/academics/stories/index.ssf/2008/03/athletes_steered_to_prof.html

[G.A.]

Men's basketball can have all the transfers in the world and will be OK as long as they don't have an "0-for-2," which is to say an athlete who loses his eligibility and doesn't return to school the next year.

[Ken]

I don't think we know that USF didn't look into the Moffitt situation--we know only that no public report was issued and student privacy rules would prevent a public report.

Many, but not all (and I can't tell you whether it is most), online courses have exams in person.

I hope those APR scores come up--like others, I'm more worried about MBB than FB.

[G.A.]

As far as the back and forth, both USF and UCF are glass houses, but both sides continue to throw all kinds of stones. It's what people do on blog comments.

Again, you have a lot of facts mixed up. Neither Moffitt nor his wife nor his wife's sister lived or worked in Pasco County. Shauna Moffitt did repay her employer in Sumter County for time she said she spent working on her husband's papers while at work, and we reported that.

I didn't speak with Patrick St. Louis about the Moffitt situation. He wasn't made available for comment, but again, even if a strength and conditioning graduate assistant were aware a student-athlete wasn't doing his own work, there isn't enough authority or oversight involved for there to be any kind of significant NCAA infraction. We've written considerably more about the Moffitt situation than anywhere else. I'll be happy to address things I actually reported.

[Mr. Clueless]

Who has the time or resources to investigate who took/cheated in an online class? Please. Moffit took all his other tests IN the classroom because teachers check student IDs when you turn in your test. Again, nobody investigates who took online classes because they are expected to be easy enough to do on your own.

[Mike Lakeland]

QUICK FACTS:

Fact #264:
The octopus' testicles are located in its head.

Fact #895:
Richard Nixon liked ketchup on his cottage cheese.

Fact #563:
By raising your legs slowly and laying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand.

[Stephen]

Yes Mike because players that die never happens at USF now does it? What an loser. Gee Mike maybe you forgot about the USF basketball coach that got fired for racial remarks to her team. The difference is, everyone knows why the changes were made at USF, for ten years the football staff ran roughshot over the administration and academics.

Greg, the stories about USF will break sooner or later. All it will take is one of those admissions people or some professor that simply has had enough.

What about Ben Moffit, Pasco County did their investiation and found that his wife did use the Pasco county computers for those papers. Did USF do an investitation, nope, why not. You reported that Patrick St. Louis even agreed with her about who did the work and that the Wally Burnam verified she was speaking to him. Why not follow that up and ask the school why they won't investigate that.

Greg, I have been around college football for nearly 50 years. I had one son play in the SEC and one play Div II. I have seen a lot of things and USF is no different. When a school has to change policies in year 11 of a program that rose so fast, there are a lot of secrets that are out there.

[Matt]

Some UCiF clown actually tried making the argument that Stan Heath staying on the road an extra nine days was a more heinous violation than Bergman choking or bat-violating an employee.

I guess when your world is crumbling down and you realize your coaches are heartless felons, you need to cling to something.

[Mike Lakeland]

It's okay, Greg. It's only the UCiF masses that want to nitpick at you. They want to compare low APR scores with coaches that run their players to death, coaches that ram batts up peoples' butts, and coaches that choke their players. You see, in their small minds, those are actually VALID comparisons. Pretty whacked-out, isn't it?

I forgot to ask - are you going to the UCF baseball game tonight?

[G.A.]

Stephen, we wrote about the changes made to the university's oversight of athletic academic support. There was a very small amount of athletes taking courses from athletic staff -- I think the number was nine total in the fall semester. I think it would be inaccurate to characterize anything involved as being close to a lack of institutional control. Other schools are shifting from USF's current model to one in which athletics oversees its own academic assistance, so there's not a clear sense that one system is inherently better than the other.

I say this on here a lot, but the Times' relationship with USF is simply a marketing agreement that has no bearing on editorial decisions or coverage. I really can't think of instances where it's helped me in terms of access or information that's led to a story. I know it helps carry the conspiracies along, but there's really nothing to it.

[Stephen]

You see Greg, I think you can be a good writer, but I think you are just scared of Jim Leavitt and USF. So you reported the secondary violations, if you would not have, the Tribune or someone else would have picked up on it.

But Greg, it is you that has the most inside access to the program, it is you that should be not only an advocate for USF, but a watch dog as well. It was the Gainesville Sun that broke the recruiting story at UF, it was the Orlando Sentinel and Tallahassee Democrat that broke the Free Shoes U thing at FSU.

Say what you want, but where there is smoke there is fire. USF got rewarded for changing their oversight of the athletic department. Changes that were damn near the term "lack of institutional control." Rules that were changed in year 11 of a program. It took 11 years to realize that having athletic employees teaching and giving grades to athletes was bad. It took 11 years to realize that restricting the power of the admissions department on questionable athletes was a bad thing.

Greg, where was the reporting then? We know that the Times pays USF to be the "official paper of USF" but does that mean that it also cost the Times in other areas as well?

[Mike Lakeland]

GoNoles - at least half of our team didn't get suspended for sharing answers to their online course:

AMH 1044 - Introduction to Underwater Basket Weaving

Nice try on slinging mud there, sport. FSU wrote (and is still writing) the book on coaches cheating, players cheating, and boosters cheating. I'd rather have players who can't pass and hurt our APR than players who have to cheat to pass and hurt our program and its public image.

[T.B.]

Adam - no use. If they really cared about the APR and USF, they would have checked out NCAA.org to get their facts straight. They'd know that all schools (not just USF) get credit for transfers and mid-year enrollees making progress toward graduation - like Jesus Verdejo. They'd also know that schools are only penalized when a student leaves a program and is not eligible to return during a regular term.

[Josh]

I don't see why some are complaining here. These are football players not physics majors. People go to college to help them become adults and learn traits to help them in life. I went to school to get a business education and some athletes (especially football players) go to get an education solely in sports so they eventually can try and turn pro. Not everyone makes it pro just like not everyone uses his or her specific degree in life. I don't understand how these FSU or UCF fans are acting so pompous and telling us we should be ashamed. If you honestly think football players from Nebraska or Southern Cal or Rutgers are getting a better education b\c there stupid score is higher you are crazy. Every college "helps" their football players in some way b\c let's face it....they're just not that bright. Wonderlic scores are a perfect example. THEY ALL GET HORRIBLE SCORES NO MATTER WHAT UNIVERSITY THEY ATTENDED, unless you're that QB from Harvard, and that has to be the most basic test I have ever seen!

[G.A.]

Lots of questions to answer here. USF isn't projecting next year's grades, they're projecting the score that will come out from the 2007-08 school year; USF now knows the final grades for their athletes and how many are leaving the program, so they can project a score based on that.

I don't know FIU's academic situation so I can't speak to it; I just know the penalties that were levied against them were the largest in the nation, and their score went down from that point. I think you'll learn today that penalties were levied against many schools in BCS conferences, so that may take the conspiracy theories back a notch. BCS programs are generally larger schools in better position to add more academic support, which can lessen an NCAA penalty. No argument there.

And for Stephen's comments, if I were only writing positive things about USF, why would I include so many things that are in this very post? Why would I have reported secondary NCAA violations last week? Just trying to keep balance between my "you're too positive" readers and my "you dwell too much on the negative" readers. Glad to have all of you, don't worry ...

[Sanjay]

For the year 2004-2005 the USF football APR was 965.
http://www.bus.ucf.edu/sport/public/downloads/2005_Football_APR_Grad_Rate.pdf

[Adam]

Stephen-

I will answer your question about Jenkins. He came to USF because his mother was sick and he wanted to be near home.

Our football team's graduation rates are pretty good based on reports that UCF does on bowl teams.

Here's the thing though, why do you get all worked up and say we should be penalized because we aren't going to meet the required scores? Isn't it easier to wait and see, then get worked up, or just laugh at our program and move on?

I am not worried about football, I am definately worried about hoops as they are in that transition phase right now with CSH. However, if it were a big problem, I don't think Woolard would let him clean house so much, so they must have it worked out.

[Stephen]

Oh will it Growing, how is that to be when USF has lost eight scholarship players from last years team. I'll do the math for you, that is nearly 10% of the scholaship players off of one team and nearly 34% of one years worth of APR eligible players. If you need a 50% grauation rate to stay alive per the NCAA you lose 10% of your players already, then USF would need even higher APR scores over the next couple of years.

Now add in that USF athletics no longer gets to have employees teaching classes and giving grades and explain how you are going to achieve those numbers when USF has NEVER achieved the minimum APR numbers.

All I want to know is, what will USF's excuse be next year. That is if they don't get the numbers because according to USF, they will get at least a 945, interesting promise from a USF official. Maybe they should just release next years grades now.

[Growling Bull]

Stephen: if you don't understand, it's okay to just leave it alone and not post a naive and uninformed reply.

USF's football APR over the last couple of years would be fine and will continue to get better as the 4-year window continues to move. No worries.

[Stephen]

Growing, you just don't get it. USF does not get to set the rules. They offered those scholarships, not the NCAA. Hardships, special exemptions, APR, special admissions boards, athletic staff giving grades, yup Greg, nothing to investigate there.

[Growling Bull]

How funny!

A lecture from a FSU fan. Do you really want us to do a quick Google search and point out all those "proud" moments Bowden enabled during his long tenure at F$U? thanks for the laugh Gnole.

[BA]

While I agree the scores on the surface are not where they need to be I feel USF will pay much more attention to their athlete off the field performances as we move forward.

Very few athletes ever make a living playing a professional sport. I also know that no university is perfect. I also know that I'm a very proud alumni of USF and no one should be taking 'cheap' shots at the student athletes. Wasn't FSU the school that was had a deal with Foot Locker at Governor's Square Mall a few years back to get free shoes to part of their football team? Let's see, grades vs. breaking the law?

Ease up Stephen, I'm sure you're on the deans list at FSU, right?

[Growling Bull]

Stephen: regardless of what you want to call it, "turnover" in college football happens at all levels for a variety of reasons. UCiF had massive turnover when O"Liar was cleaning up the previous coach's mess, hence your APR during those early years were worse than USF's. Look it up. USF had dramatic turnover due two successive conference upgrades within a 4 year window. The Bulls went from having the state's highest APR to among the lowest b/c of moving from CDOA to the BigEast within 4 years. Many of the kids that left the program were in good academic standing. They just saw the writing on the wall. LBs Ronnie McCollough & Josh Balloon were prime examples. They would have been great CUSA players but they were not as good as the LBs USF brought in after they were recruited.

In the end, USF's APR is going to be fine next year and my guess it will be around 930 to 945, b/c of the recent departures there weren't many "0-2" kids which will account the APR.

Perhaps UCiF fans should spend more time about your perverted coaches and your player hating, lying football coach than worrying about a program that owns you in every sport.

[Stephen]

Greg, do us all a favor and act like a reporter instead of an employee of USF. Answer the questions your readers want to know. How is it that USF gets away with it and FIU does not. Why is it that USF changes rules that were clearly a lack of institutional control when they allow athletic department staff to teach classes and questionable admissions policies and they get rewarded for it.

USF has never lost a hardship case, has their athletic department run the admissions for athletes, lives under the APR standard and all you have is excuses as to why.

Greg, you get paid by the ST. Pete Times, not USF.

[GoNoles]

USF should be proud!
Yet another exception to add to their long list. They abuse the transfer rules, take in special exemptions and now get the NCAA to not penalize them for being a team that can't pass classes!
"Win at all costs" is the USF mantra. I would be ashamed if I were an alumnus.

[Mike Lakeland]

Wow. We suck. I hope we improve more, or we're gonna get whacked next year.

I personally volunteer to tutor any football or basketball players. Seriously.

[Stephen]

Shocking that the BCS program skates away with no loss scholarships and the non BCS programs get hit. What a bunch of crap the NCAA has turned into.

Oh and Greg, you are the biggest appolgist I have ever seen on any level. There is no such thing as "turnover" when you switch conferences. You don't get to say, oh well, our players are not good enough this year so we get to dump them. That is not an excuse.

I might be wrong but the best player ever to come out of USF was Mike Jenkins, tell me how USF mangaged to recruit him before there ever was a Big East invitation.

What a joke.

[DELdaBULL]

oops again

[DELdaBULL]

FIU's football program really needs those penalties. Now I think they will be on pace to score 0 victories over a three year span instead of one.
This looks like the rich getting richer agian.