UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 28
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
UGA gets tough on athletes about academics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The subtitle of this blog, in case you haven’t noticed, is “a beat writer’s perspective.” That’s because part of the reason we established these blogs is to give our readers kind of a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what it is we do and provide some perspective on what we write and why. Today is one of those days I want to utilize that format literally.
Sometime later today on the website and in tomorrow’s print edition a story will run on the Georgia men’s basketball team and its recent rash of suspensions and dismissals. At one point this season the Bulldogs were four players down due to academic suspensions and disciplinary dimissals. That number is now down to three because Billy Humphrey has been reinstated to the team and it will go down to two when Albert Jackson comes off suspension in two more games.
The story you’ll read (hopefully) gets into detail about how and why this all happened. It focuses a lot on UGA’s new academic policy for athletes implemented by Damon Evans back in January and how it contributed to the demise of players Mike Mercer and Takais Brown, who were suspended a total of 24 games as a result of it. The story was generated via what we call an “FOI” request, a reference to the Freedom of Information Act, which ensures that information not otherwise protected by federal law is available for public review. After all the suspensions and dismissals came down I filed an FOI to UGA asking for “any and all” documents detailing the reasons behind those suspensions.
What I got back was more than 200 pages of copies of e-mails, memos and letters exchanged between coach Dennis Felton, UGA athletic administrators and members of the Bulldogs’ academic support team regarding the academic doings of Georgia basketball players. Some of those correspondences were tersely worded and, for a time, there clearly was tension between the basketball office and the people in the Rankin Smith Academic Achievement Center.
That said, I thought Evans was eloquent in explaining that, while many people may see tension in those exchanges, he sees only communication and effort. He says it shows that high-level administrators and coaches are working tirelessly on a daily basis to make sure UGA athletes stay on track to graduate.
And I buy that. If there was one thing I came away with as a result of this project it was that these players had absolutely no excuse for missing all these appointments that are arranged for their sole benefit. The message is this: If you want to come to Georgia just to pursue your athletic endeavors then don’t bother.
And be advised, Georgia’s men’s basketball team won’t be the last team affected by Evans’ get-tough academic policy. There will be other casualties certainly, including football and other high-profile sports.
The bottom line is this: Georgia is serious about turning around its graduation rate and, no matter how much you warn them and fret about it, ultimately it is up to the athletes themselves to do what they have to do academically.
I also think Coach Felton is doing things the right way and will soon have the basketball program where everybody wants it to be on a consistent basis.
What are your thoughts on all this? Do you think UGA is going overboard with all the mandatory academic appointments and class attendance? Is it possible to say the Dogs are emphasizing academics too much?
Say you don’t care because it’s not football? Who knows, it may have affected football already (see suspensions from beginning of this season) and it certainly will before it’s all over.
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