MetaFilter posts tagged with ncaa

Metropolitan-Statistical Madness

schmod — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:09:11 -0800

Which of these two cities is bigger? The Census bureau has a quiz to see how well you know the relative sizes of the 64 largest metropolitan areas in the US, March Madness style. More data visualizations from the Census bureau.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

tonycpsu — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:55:40 -0800

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett filed a federal anti-trust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association today. Announcing the suit at a press conference this morning, Corbett claimed that the NCAA "seized upon the opportunity for publicity on the backs of the citizens of the Commonwealth". The suit seeks vacation of all of the sanctions levied against Penn State University by the NCAA (previously) after the release of the Freeh Report (previously) on the University's improper handling of allegations of sexual abuse against Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky (previously). Responding to the lawsuit, the NCAA called the lawsuit "an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy". Corbett, who has faced criticism for his slow-moving but ultimately successful investigation of the abuse and his close ties to Sandusky's Second Mile charity, is pursuing the case on behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth rather than the University, which has stated that it is "committed to full compliance" with the sanctions, and is not a party to the lawsuit.

"20 years holding back a collective tidal wave of jism"

bardic — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:42:19 -0800

Former college football powerhouse Notre Dame hasn't won a national title in a long time (1988, natch). They have a rabid fan-base (arguably the biggest in college sports) and the largest TV deal in the nation with NBC. This season they came from pretty much out of nowhere to land a spot in the national title game. The problem, however, is that the school and its fans are in fact horrible, no-good people. Presenting Drew Magary's A-Z Hater's Guide to Notre Dame! "Catholicism: No football program wears its religion on its sleeve more than Notre Dame. Even BYU isn't obnoxious enough to have Jesus overlooking the end zone. It's that kind of 'we're more special than you' attitude that makes me hope that Satan will one day crawl out of the Earth's mantle and raze the entire Notre Dame campus with a single crack of his fire lash."

If Only T. Boone Pickens Had Died

reenum — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 17:04:11 -0800

T. Boone Pickens and other wealthy, elderly Oklahoma State alums decided to participate in a scheme named "Call of a Lifetime", where they would allow the university to take out $10 million life insurance policies on them. What could go wrong?

Call no man happy till he is dead

leotrotsky — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 06:46:11 -0800

Penn State Fined $60 Million, Paterno Wins Vacated Since 1998: For its attempts to cover up a serial child molester in its coaching ranks, the NCAA has hit Penn State with a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban, four-year loss of 10 scholarships, and the removal of all wins dating to 1998, taking away the late coach Joe Paterno's status as the winningest coach in college football's highest level. hat tip to Sportsfilter

Billy Donovan's Secret Sorrow

reenum — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:53:19 -0800

Three basketball coaches share the experience of a single type of tragedy.

How Can We Fix College Sports?

beisny — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:03:13 -0800

The historian Taylor Branch, who in October published a lengthy excoriation of the N.C.A.A. in The Atlantic, comparing it to “the plantation,” was only the most recent voice to call for players to be paid. Like most such would-be reformers, however, he didn’t offer a way to go about it. That’s what I’m setting out to do here. Over the last few months, in consultation with sports economists, antitrust lawyers and reformers, I put together the outlines of what I believe to be a realistic plan to pay those who play football and men’s basketball in college. Although the approach may appear radical at first glance, that’s mainly because we’ve been brainwashed into believing that there’s something fundamentally wrong with rewarding college athletes with cold, hard cash. There isn’t. Paying football and basketball players will not ruin college sports or cause them to become “subcontractors.” Indeed, given the way big-time college sports are going, paying the players may be the only way to save them. - Joe Nocera, Let's Start Paying College Athletes Previously

I Love My (hic) Ducks!

Danf — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:18:17 -0800

Are Big Time Sports a Threat to Student Achievement? A study by 3 University of Oregon economists suggests that male University of Oregon students’ grades drop during successful seasons for the UO football team, as students study less and drink and party more to celebrate Duck victories. This was reported locally and picked up nationally. "Following a win, men reported drinking and partying more, studying less and missing more classes than when the team lost, the study found. The same trends, but at lower levels, were followed by women, except that they maintained their usual time studying, the study found."

Don’t Give Up . . . Don’t Ever Give Up!

T.D. Strange — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:06:12 -0800

Jim Valvano and 6th seeded North Carolina State completed one of the all time greatest Cinderella upsets in basketball history, winning the 1983 NCAA tournament title over the top ranked "Phi Slamma Jamma" out of Houston, featuring two future Hall of Fame and Top 50 all time NBA superstars Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. On March 3, 1993, shortly before his death from bone cancer diagnosed the previous year, Jimmy V delivered an iconic speech at the inaugural ESPY awards announcing the creation of The Jimmy V Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. Jimmy V week is celebrated each year on ESPN and has since raised over $100 million for cancer research.

you sold your souls, and you’re going to continue selling them

gerryblog — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:53:32 -0800

For all the outrage, the real scandal is not that students are getting illegally paid or recruited, it’s that two of the noble principles on which the NCAA justifies its existence—“amateurism” and the “student-athlete”—are cynical hoaxes, legalistic confections propagated by the universities so they can exploit the skills and fame of young athletes. The tragedy at the heart of college sports is not that some college athletes are getting paid, but that more of them are not.

I'm Not Worth A Damn

reenum — Tue, 24 May 2011 08:23:13 -0800

An oldie but a goodie: Don Reese, then of the San Diego Chargers, talks about his own problems with cocaine and the widespread drug use in the NFL at the time. Here's a single page version of the above article.

Duke vs Michigan

auto-correct — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:45:04 -0800

On Sunday, ESPN aired an acclaimed documentary about the University of Michigan's Fab Five. In one segment the members of the Fab Five discuss their hatred of the Duke University basketball program, and Jalen Rose goes so far as to say that at the time he felt like Duke players were "Uncle Toms". Link goes to clip of relevant segment (1:24), after a short ad. Grant Hill, who played for Duke against the Fab Five, responded in today's New York Times. The NYT version was edited for space constraints, so the full version is available on Hill's website. The full documentary is on Youtube, starting here.

NCAA Office Pool Tips from an Expert

TheShadowKnows — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:06:27 -0800

Nate Siver of FiveThirtyEight.com (who prior to getting into political analysis invented the sabermetric analysis framework PECOTA) has published a detailed explanation of How We Made Our N.C.A.A. Picks. It goes well beyond the standard advice "don't just pick the favorites".

BYU’s honor code requires students to live a chaste and virtuous life

T.D. Strange — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:09:20 -0800

Third ranked NCAA basketball team Brigham Young University dismissed starting center Brandon Davies for violating the school's honor code by having premarital sex with his girlfriend. The decision likely ends BYU's hopes for a Final Four after a fantastic season at 27-2. In the first game following his dismissal, BYU was crushed at home by New Mexico 82-64.

Go Beavers!

Upton O'Good — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:01:24 -0800

The Caltech men's basketball team beat Occidental College today 46-45, winning its first conference game in 26 years and snapping a 310-game losing streak. The court was subsequently stormed. More photos and videos from the Caltech athletics department. The 2006 team was featured in a documentary about the streak.

the first wednesday in february

troika — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:22:41 -0800

Today is National Signing Day, the first day a high school senior can sign a letter of intent and commit to a collegiate football program. Sports Illustrated is liveblogging announcements throughout the day. Get some background with a list of Players to Watch, or just enjoy the adorable friend accompanying Isaiah Crowell. But some say it has become too much of a circus to be good for the young players. And others want to recognize the real unsung heroes of the day.

Kye Allums Makes NCAA History

rcade — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 08:21:09 -0800

Transgender Man Plays on Women's College Team. A guard for George Washington University's women's basketball team is a transgender man. Kye Allums, who was born female and has not undergone any hormone treatments, changed his name from Kay-Kay to Kye within the last year and was relieved not to lose his scholarship. "When people refer to me as 'girl' or 'she,' it doesn't sit well with me," Allums said. "That feeling you get when someone pisses you off, that feeling you get when your stomach gets hot and it aches, that's what it feels like. And that's how I know I'm not supposed to be a girl." On Nov. 13, he will be the first transgender person to compete in Division One college basketball, according to OutSports. Opposing fans used to taunt Allums about his masculine build, but it backfired. "I love it," he said. "It makes me feel better about myself to hear them call me a man."

"Do you hear that, Marcus? Do you hear it?" I yell. "You know what that is? That's Hollywood, baby. Hollywood's calling. You gonna answer the call?"

availablelight — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:07:41 -0800

"I will never forget the first time I paid a player." Former sports agent Josh Luchs confesses to paying 30 college football players early in his career.

College Football Selling Out, In Real Time

bbuda — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:16:12 -0800

"It's a storm only a game theorist could love..." In the next few weeks, the NCAA College Football landscape may change completely. Or not. Either way there's a massive power struggle unfolding among college football conferences for big TV money, and an increasing gulf between the haves and have nots. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany sparked the latest round of conference realignment / expansion almost three years ago, but the pace picked up with this week's rumor that the Pac 10 would swallow half of the Big Twelve teams to create a 16-team mega-conference. The University of Texas is the biggest economic prize among the Big Twelve, and some Texas lawmakers are already trying to use that to the state's advantage. Even before the Pac 16 rumors started, fans were imagining an expanded (14 team? 16 team?) Big Ten with increasingly fanciful playoff scenarios. For the Big Ten, the Great White Whale has always been Notre Dame (even though Bo may have disapproved), which has floated the idea of joining a conference to massive fan disapproval. Is this the "radical change" that will cause the Irish to abandon their freek-y independence?

Hank Gathers Remembered

NolanRyanHatesMatches — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:49:06 -0800

"He was so high," says Lucille Gathers Cheeseboro, two decades later. "And then when he came down, he was so low." Hank Gathers, remembered twenty years later. Diagnosed with exercise-induced ventricular tachycardia, Hank Gathers, as a junior, managed to be only the 2nd player in history to lead the NCAA in both scoring (33 ppg) and rebounding (14 rpg). About twenty years ago this week, Gathers, All-American power forward for 1990 Loyola Marymount University Lions, the highest-scoring team in NCAA history, collapsed at midcourt after high-fiving teammate, good friend and future All-American Bo Kimble due to an exercise-induced heart attack during a conference championships game. After his death, the Lions made a surprising run during the NCAA Tournament, making it to the Elite Eight before falling to the powerhouse UNLV Runnin' Rebels. During that stretch, Bo Kimble, in honor of his friend Gathers, shot each of his first free throws in each game left-handed (a tribute he would continue while in the NBA). BONUS: LIONS VS. TIGERS Gathers played under an incredibly break-neck offense constructed by coach Paul Westhead. Curious about what a perpetually fast-breaking/fullcourt-pressing game looks like? You might enjoy this all-time classic overtime game from 1990, pitting the Gathers/Kimble Loyola Marymount Lions against a young and talented Louisiana State University Tigers, available here (second video down; been kind of wonky viewing for me, but hooooooly shit is this a great game. Classic. Seriously). How young and talented was that LSU team? They featured three future NBA 1st Round draft picks: the quick and deadly Chris Jackson (who was probably the most famous basketball player afflicted with Tourette's syndrome and who would later change his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf), and a few big fellas, 7-foot center Stanley Roberts (whose career would be derailed by injuries and drug abuse) and the thin, perma-grinning 7-foot freshman center, Shaquille O'Neal (a.k.a. Shaq, The Diesel, Shaq Fu, The Big Aristotle and Hobo Master, Superman, The Big Agave, The Big Cactus, The Big Shaqtus, Wilt Chamberneezy, Dr. Shaq, The Big Baryshnikov, etc.)

Now watch us YOUUUU!

cashman — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:53:43 -0800

Last Thursday, USF & UCONN's baseball teams were stuck in a 5 & 1/2 hour rain delay during the Big East semifinals. What to do. What to do. BASEBALL DANCE-OFF! (12:16 video) They crank dat, there's some limbo, riverdancing, ticking, choreographed, solo - oh it's all in there.

March Madness 2009

woodway — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:44:15 -0800

March Madness is less than a month away, and sports fans are snapping up tickets to watch men’s and women’s NCAA basketball teams battle their way to the Final Four. Projected brackets are going online, with speculation about likely picks and the prospects of finding a Cinderella team in the field this year. Cheerleaders get their moment on screen before commercial breaks, but should these student athletes be considered members of a sports team, too? On court fashion generates debate, and mascots range from the obvious to the really odd. PETA continues its crusade against the use of live animals, but one overriding question remains: “What the hell is a Saluki?”

Perfect Pat!

netbros — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:15:33 -0800

First QB in NCAA history to win four bowl games. Patrick White has been a record setting quarterback during his four years at West Virginia University. An early season Heisman trophy candidate, White is the all-time rushing QB in history, and apparently, an unassuming ladies man.

Commitment ceremony, or needing to be committed?

humanfont — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:26:39 -0800

As national signing day approached, a small town in Nevada got excited that one of its football stars would go to a big time college program. Finally on the fated day town notables and media gathered for a ceremony where, Kevin Hart, made his choice known. Then it all unraveled, he was never recruited at all.

Serfs of the Turf

AceRock — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:14:19 -0800

Serfs of the Turf. Michael Lewis on the racket that is college football and the myth of the "student-athlete" football player.