Knowledge Is Golden

Not sure where the TNL guys fall in terms of Bradley vs. Schiano vs. Golden vs. The Field, but I’m fairly certain Galen’s wrong about this one:

Golden has been at Temple for three years and started off with a very young team (read: his guys) so it’s obvious that Golden doesn’t hold his players to the same academic scrutiny that Penn State would prefer. Without a doubt the next head coach at Penn State must carry on the tradition of excellence in the classroom, there’s no wiggle room on that aspect of the job.

Golden’s only been at Temple for two years — that’s the big knock on his credentials for the PSU job, after all.  The program was not only in a hole when he arrived, it was sitting at the bottom of a smoldering crater.  An item in today’s Philadelphia Daily News explains:

 

Since Al Golden took over as Temple’s football coach in December 2005, there have been no eligibility issues. Still, the program again has been cited for academic failings that took place before his arrival on North Broad Street.

Yesterday, the NCAA announced the fourth-year Academic Progress Rates for all Division I teams. And the Owls have lost four scholarships. The penalties last for 1 year, and there’s every expectation that all four will be reinstated at that time.

Two years ago the Owls lost nine scholarships, for similar reasons. Twelve months later, they had every one back.

The APR score of student-athletes recruited by Golden is 980, well above the minimum of 925.

. . .

At least some of these problems can be traced to the Big East’s decision to jettison Temple after the 2004 season. It affected recruiting. More emphasis was put on junior-college talent. It didn’t work.

Under Golden, there’s been much more of a commitment to academic support.

 

And in all honesty, this is a good example of why the APR numbers are a sham. It’s mostly a reflection on what went on 3-5 years ago.  That “commitment to academic support” at Temple is shown in a New York Times article from November, 2006:

When Mr. Golden was hired last December, he made his entire staff build two and a half hours into their daily schedules to help the players personally, with a special focus on academics.

Mr. Golden took the pool table out of the players’ lounge and replaced it with more computers.

He posted a list of players not attending class or handing in assignments on the door of the Temple football facility for everyone to see. He takes one shift a week himself to check players’ classes personally.

He made his players get to know their professors, sit in the front row, and not wear hats to class. “If you’re not going to class, you’re going to be suspended,” Mr. Golden said.

Temple increased its academic support staff to nine from six. Peter D’Alonzo, the lead coordinator and a learning specialist at Temple, installed the same program he used at Notre Dame. Freshmen are now mentored by students in Temple’s law school. Students below a 2.4 average are given mandatory study hours and intensive tutoring; Mr. D’Alonzo compared it to doing homework in front of Mom and Dad at the kitchen table.

Gotta love the NYT going with “Mr.”, by the way.  Classy. 

Again, I don’t put a lot of stock in APR figures, which can be fudged by the program or torpedoed by circumstances beyond its control.  I’ll put my faith in what’s happening on the ground, at the school.  And I like what I’m reading about Temple.

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KRS One - You Must Learn

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