http://thinkprogress.org Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:22:57 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/comment-page-1/#comment-495144 MAYBE YOU’VE HEARD OF IT? F****** ELASTIC HEART! » Blog Archive » Kotter, The Books & Rumsfeld Tue, 04 Apr 2006 14:39:03 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/#comment-495144 [...] Think Progress has started a new feature called “Graduation Madness” to bring awareness to the misguided attention placed on athletic performance rather than intellectual performance. This is just all kinds of a great idea. Good for them. [...] [...] Think Progress has started a new feature called “Graduation Madness” to bring awareness to the misguided attention placed on athletic performance rather than intellectual performance. This is just all kinds of a great idea. Good for them. [...]

]]> http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/comment-page-1/#comment-482960 Think Progress » Nike Responds To Graduation Madness Campaign Wed, 22 Mar 2006 17:45:50 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/#comment-482960 [...] Through our Graduation Madness campaign, ThinkProgress readers have sent thousands of emails to Nike demanding they take action to help ensure more college basketball players graduate. Thanks to your efforts, Nike has responded. Here’s an excerpt: [W]e are also aware of the diligent efforts made by all the NCAA-governed institutions to raise the graduation rate among student-athletes at their schools. We believe that school administrators and team coaches have made this issue a priority within their ranks, and are actively implementing programs that address this concern. Nike fully supports those efforts and the long-term goals of the NCAA. (Full response here) [...] [...] Through our Graduation Madness campaign, ThinkProgress readers have sent thousands of emails to Nike demanding they take action to help ensure more college basketball players graduate. Thanks to your efforts, Nike has responded. Here’s an excerpt: [W]e are also aware of the diligent efforts made by all the NCAA-governed institutions to raise the graduation rate among student-athletes at their schools. We believe that school administrators and team coaches have made this issue a priority within their ranks, and are actively implementing programs that address this concern. Nike fully supports those efforts and the long-term goals of the NCAA. (Full response here) [...]

]]> http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/comment-page-1/#comment-474430 Think Progress » The NCAA Takes On Graduation Madness Tue, 14 Mar 2006 16:00:42 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/#comment-474430 [...] The NCAA blog covered our Graduation Madness campaign this morning. While Josh Centor, who blogs for the NCAA, is generally supportive of the campaign he takes issue with our data. Specifically, he feels our claim that 30 schools who qualified for March Madness don’t meet the NCAA’s minimum academic standards is inaccurate: According to ThinkProgress.org: “of the 65 teams that qualified for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, 30 fail to meet minimum academic standards as defined by the NCAA.” That’s not exactly accurate. Two teams in the field had scores lower than the 925 cutoff, and both will be penalized with the loss of scholarships next season. [...] [...] The NCAA blog covered our Graduation Madness campaign this morning. While Josh Centor, who blogs for the NCAA, is generally supportive of the campaign he takes issue with our data. Specifically, he feels our claim that 30 schools who qualified for March Madness don’t meet the NCAA’s minimum academic standards is inaccurate: According to ThinkProgress.org: “of the 65 teams that qualified for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, 30 fail to meet minimum academic standards as defined by the NCAA.” That’s not exactly accurate. Two teams in the field had scores lower than the 925 cutoff, and both will be penalized with the loss of scholarships next season. [...]

]]> http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/comment-page-1/#comment-474074 OutsideTheText.com » A Dumb Shit Water Polo Fan (or Go UAlbany Basketball) Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:34:23 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/#comment-474074 [...] And more importantly this view (that college athletes of the major sports-basketball, football) are getting a free ride which is unfair (aside from being motivated by what I would suggest is a racist ideology), misses the point: That college athletes of these major sports are fundamentally exploited labor. That is, they produce far more revenue for their programs than they take in. They work long days (yes I say work, even if it is fun it is hard-let’s see how many Classics Majors would last thru one day of two-a-days in 90 degree heat running wind sprints), have stringent rules placed on them, and are often abandoned by the programs when they stop producing for the school. This system needs to be rethought. Universities need to stop serving as minor league systems for the pro-sports, and being in-bed with athletic companies, and start being accountable for educating these athletes they recruit to their schools. Which brings me to the two points of this post: 1. Congrats UAlbany Basketball-its hard work and you should be proud. 2. Check out Graduation Madness [...] [...] And more importantly this view (that college athletes of the major sports-basketball, football) are getting a free ride which is unfair (aside from being motivated by what I would suggest is a racist ideology), misses the point: That college athletes of these major sports are fundamentally exploited labor. That is, they produce far more revenue for their programs than they take in. They work long days (yes I say work, even if it is fun it is hard-let’s see how many Classics Majors would last thru one day of two-a-days in 90 degree heat running wind sprints), have stringent rules placed on them, and are often abandoned by the programs when they stop producing for the school. This system needs to be rethought. Universities need to stop serving as minor league systems for the pro-sports, and being in-bed with athletic companies, and start being accountable for educating these athletes they recruit to their schools. Which brings me to the two points of this post: 1. Congrats UAlbany Basketball-its hard work and you should be proud. 2. Check out Graduation Madness [...]

]]> http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/comment-page-1/#comment-473321 Think Progress » Graduation Madness: Tell Nike, Adidas and Reebok To Get Off The Academic Sidelines Mon, 13 Mar 2006 16:17:21 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/march-madness/#comment-473321 [...] Of the 65 teams that qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (aka March Madness), 30 fail to meet minimum academic standards as defined by the NCAA. Twenty-one of the failing schools are sponsored by Nike, 8 by Adidas and one by Reebok. Over the next two weeks Nike, Adidas and Reebok will profit as these schools — whose players are adorned with their company logos — advance through the tournament. [...] [...] Of the 65 teams that qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (aka March Madness), 30 fail to meet minimum academic standards as defined by the NCAA. Twenty-one of the failing schools are sponsored by Nike, 8 by Adidas and one by Reebok. Over the next two weeks Nike, Adidas and Reebok will profit as these schools — whose players are adorned with their company logos — advance through the tournament. [...]

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