Sounds like you went to a Ford message board and wanted to talk about how nice the Chevy's were.

Might want to invite those sports fans over to the always hopping college academic-based message boards to discuss that in the future.

You are free to evaluate coaches in any manner you choose. Not knowing what specific game you are referring to makes it difficult to discuss. Certainly there are instances where coaches make poor game decisions that can be costly. If this is such an incident, the fans certainly have the right to complain about the coach, regardless of the academic prowess of the team. After all, isn't that the school administration's business?

I agree with Josh, every student has the ability and I???m sure wants to root for his or her home team, but college wasn't built on athletics alone. You need to have a firm base of academics before you can even comprehend the fundamentals of any sport. Coaches, trainers, and organization leaders have two responsibilities to each and every player. They must help the individual to first strive in the academic world before they can work with the group to mold a team, because without the capacity to think critically where will they go?

Second, if they (the student) have proved they can excel in that they can maintain a balance between academics and athletics and that the coaches who I hope are more then a coach, but also an instructor in the university, will help them to strive first for the grade not just a goal. Coaches must push them to go above their potential, in the classroom and on the field. If you are able to gain respect, then you can prove to be a great influence to the individual, and that's where the true ability of a coach and teacher will come to play.

I agree with you in theory that education should be the primary focus of college athletics. Student-athletes who are able to balance the demands that are put on them athletically and academically should be commended. Like I have posted before, being a former coach, I agree that a coach???s ultimate focus is to be a solid mentor and provide guidance for their student-athletes. The problem though is that is not reality. I know many coaches over my 12 years in college athletics that were released by their institutions for win-loss performance. I do not know one that was released for not graduating kids but won. That is the way coaches are evaluated day in and day out. I understand what institutions say but rarely do they stand up to the pressure from alumni who call for a coach???s job over win-loss records. I also think it is great that you were excited over the four-time academic all-American at Syracuse but I am willing to say that it didn't make front page news. That's the problem we have with the whole situation. Scores and records are front page news. It's unfortunate but reality.

???I agree that athletics success is important and I am in no way suggesting that coaches shouldn???t be held accountable for poor performance on the court or field. I do believe, however, that coaches should be lauded for recruiting high quality student-athletes who perform to the best of their abilities both on and off the field. Fans should cheer these academic accolades heartily.???

I don???t believe that a coach should ever play people because of their name. I think position should be earned in practice.