Aug. 11, 2011
Quick Slant is an array of brief insights and occasionally opinionated overviews of collegiate athletics in general and the Vanderbilt Commodores in particular.
The NCAA recently concluded a two-day President’s Retreat in which the news coming out sounded very much like the message delivered by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive last month. University presidents, conference administrators and just about everyone else connected to collegiate athletics are sick and tired of the scandals and bogus academics.
As Vanderbilt’s Director of Athletics, Roy Kramer liked to say if you could put integrity into the term “student-athlete” 90% of the problems that plague college athletics would disappear. It appears almost three decades later that a critical mass of power players agree. Penn State’s president has been widely quoted as a representative of the reform movement.
Look in the not so distant future for tougher academic admission requirements across the board. Another of the possibilities links team participation in NCAA tournaments to academic performance. i.e. a program with poor academic performance might not be allowed to play in, say, March Madness.
We love this trend. James Franklin said at SEC Media Day that the more rules that are put into place the better it will be for the Commodores. Why? Because we have always operated under these higher standards and would have few if any adjustments to make while others will have to reevaluate how they do business.
The National Commodore Club will be hosting pre-game tailgate parties for all members contributing $100 or more prior to the Elon and UConn football games. The cost is $15, either in advance to the NCC’s Kendal Duncan (343-4067) or at the tailgate entry. The early tailgates will be on the grass next to Gate 2 at the corner of Jess Neely Drive and Natchez Trace, convenient to Vandyville and Starwalk.
A story appeared in the local newspaper regarding some future athletic facility upgrades the other day and it was predictably followed by online chat that the university should simply tap into its “pot of gold” to fund it. Thank goodness for one informed poster, who pointed out – as scores of others have tried over the years – that Vanderbilt’s endowment is EARMARKED for specific purposes established at the time of the gift by the donor. The university can’t simply redirect a penny of those assets, regardless of the cause. It is one of the biggest myth’s concerning VU Athletics.
NAME DROPPING… Incoming freshman golfer Hunter Stewart and senior Adam Hofmann will play in the United States Amateur later this month…Stewart and Ben Fogler comprise the newcomers on the men’s golf roster; some of you may recall Ben’s mom and dad, Robin and Eddie Fogler.