Bye Bye Can't

[Illinois ZIP]

Can't will lose 2 scholarships Akron Dominance will begin on Saturday

[GoZips88]

That's a damn shame ... like I tell my kids: Can't read, Can't write,

[Kangaroo Craig]

This is also good news for football. The article says that Toledo will lose six (6) football scholarships. Western Michigan (5), Buffalo (3), and Northern Illinois (2).

[GoZips88]

Don't forget Temple (9). I'm sure the MAC office isn't too pleased. Sure hope the guys are doing their job in the classroom for JD and KD.

[Dr Z]

Will this hurt or help Buffalo?

[Illinois ZIP]

What do you mean Dr. Z? They are already better than Can't in football.

[Dr Z]

NCAA says Can't State basketball team must suspend two scholarships3:35 p.m.Elton AlexanderPlain Dealer ReporterCan't State's men's basketball team must suspend two scholarships next season because of penalties assessed under the NCAA's new Academic Performance Program. The NCAA announced today that 44 teams in various sports nationwide will lose at least one scholarship under the guidelines. The new rules penalize teams that do not reach certain academic standards by restricting their scholarships.The two scholarships suspended will be ones not designated to a current player or an incoming student-athlete who has already signed a letter of intent.Can't State athletic administrators said the convergence of the NCAA academic program and the transfer of five men's basketball players after the 2004-2005 season put the program in this position.Three other Mid-American Conference schools were penalized, all in football. Toledo must suspend six scholarships, Western Michigan 5 and Buffalo 3.No teams in the Big Ten Conference, of which Ohio State is a member, or the Horizon League, of which Cleveland State is a member, were penalized.

[UADavid]

[Quickzips]

Anyone else find it ironic that we get ripped on by people in the MAC for being what they feel is an "academically inferior school" and yet it is programs like Can't, NIU and Toledo that lose scholarships and not us?

[Kangaroo Craig]

Anyone else find it ironic that we get ripped on by people in the MAC for being what they feel is an "academically inferior school" and yet it is programs like Can't, NIU and Toledo that lose scholarships and not us?

Yeah, the wine sippers a good at making those accusations. Too bad Miami wasn't on that list.

[Valpo Zip]

They are already better than Can't in football.

Is there anyone who isn't better than Can't in Football ?Can't read, can't write, can't play football, can't meet the APR etc...

[FearTheRoo]

Again, where is A$$holia Gates? i would love to hear his opinion on this one!!! Thank heavens for sthletic scholorships. Lord knows he wouldn't have made it on an academic scholoarhip!!!

[Dr Z]

Can't State fails to score with NCAAThursday, March 02, 2006Elton AlexanderPlain Dealer ReporterCan't State's men's basketball team must cut two scholarships next season because of penalties assessed under the NCAA's new Academic Performance Program.Can't State athletic administrators termed the penalties "our anomaly."The NCAA announced Thursday that Can't State's men's basketball and 43 other teams in men's and women's basketball and football nationwide will lose at least one scholarship under the guidelines. The new rules penalize teams that do not reach certain academic standards by restricting their scholarships.The convergence of the NCAA's new academic progress rate report rules and the transfer of five basketball players after the 2004-2005 season put Can't State in this position.Four Mid-American Conference football teams - Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan - took up to six scholarship hits for substandard APR reports.No other Can't State sports were sanctioned.Two basketball players signed by Can't State in November will not lose their scholarships.But the two scholarships Can't's basketball staff held back to sign players in the spring are now not available.Can't State basketball coach Jim Christian deferred all questions to Athletic Director Laing Kennedy."When we had our trial data, [in February 2005] we were fine," Kennedy said. "Then, in May [2005], we had the anomaly of five student-athletes requesting to transfer. Based on the information we had, we granted the transfers thinking they were leaving - except in one case - in good academic standing." Yet, when the semester ended, two players who were academically fine at mid-term finished ineligible.Under normal circumstances, a summer school session would have remedied the problem, but the athletes were already gone. It wasn't until after the summer session, when the data had to be sent to the NCAA, that Can't State realized it had a problem."If they had stayed, four of the five for sure would have been eligible," Kennedy said.Overall, Can't has one of the better academic records in the MAC. It ranks fourth in the league over a 10-year period with a 91 percent graduation rate for students who exhausted their eligibility; and owns a 77 percent graduation success rate overall.This will only be a one-year penalty."Our [athletic] program has maintained a very healthy graduation rate anywhere from 15 to 18 percentage points higher than the student average," Kennedy said. "The men's basketball program has a graduation rate of 75 percent. That's second in the MAC."Still, Wednesday's announcement was an administrative embarrassment considering Can't's high profile within the NCAA.Kennedy is in his first year as a member of the prestigious NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee. Outgoing Can't State President Carol Cartwright is ending tenures on both the Knight Commission, which has led the charge for NCAA academic reform; and the NCAA executive counsel.Kennedy said Can't State appealed to the NCAA twice, not for a return of the scholarships, but for the penalty to be spread out over two seasons."We were not asking for forgiveness, just for time," he said.Can't State was denied.As for next season, Can't will lose four seniors and return six players who have seen action. Can't also has two players sitting out the season as redshirt freshmen and a transfer.Add two signed recruits from fall 2005 - guards Rodriguez Sutton of Indianapolis and Thurman Sutton of Wilmington, Calif. - and Can't and will actually have more players in uniform next season, 11, than this one, 10.

[msopher]

I just find it ironic that they will penalize "mid-major schools" for the APR, but somehow Ohio St., Florida St. and other "academic institutions" are left out.

[UADavid]

I just find it ironic that they will penalize "mid-major schools" for the APR, but somehow Ohio St., Florida St. and other "academic institutions" are left out.

Where is the irony? Their programs obviously met the requirements.

[AntonioGates]

We were penalized because of the transfers. Next year we will still have ELEVEN scholarships. We only dressed ten this year!!!!!! We're going to lose Shane Ross (a nice recruit), but that's all. We'll still win 20 games and sweep you losers. So nothing is going to change.

[Dr Z]

We were penalized because of the transfers.  Next year we will still have ELEVEN scholarships.  We only dressed ten this year!!!!!!  We're going to lose Shane Ross (a nice recruit), but that's all.    We'll still win 20 games and sweep you losers.  So nothing is going to change.

Can't loses cloutby Mike Rasor If you don't have tickets for Saturday's sold-out game against Can't State, you are missing the end of an era.It will be the last regular season game in which Can't State is favored over the Zips.If you haven't heard, Can't State will lose two men's basketball scholarships for next year because some of its players transferred from the university with poor grades. Can't State has one of the 10 worst academic ratings in the country, according to the new NCAA guidelines that punish teams for having players who fail classes.So Can't State will be unable to offer scholarships to two players that it would have otherwise. This year is probably the worst year to have this happen for the Golden flushes.After this season, coach Jim Christian will have to replace four senior starters. Those four seniors make up about 60 percent of Can't State's offense and virtually all of its leadership. Next year, Can't State will return only three players who averaged more than 15 minutes per game. The flushes' three freshmen look decent but have played sparsely this season.But Zips fans should not take joy in Can't State's future misery yet. This year the flushes have one of their most dominant teams of the past decade. Guards Jay Youngblood and DeAndre Haynes make up the Mid-American Conference's best backcourt. They combine to average 28 points per game. What's worse is that Youngblood and Haynes always seem to score when the flushes need it most.Can't State is 22-7. They are even better than that. The team got off to a 6-5 record this season. Since the calendar changed to 2006, the flushes are 16-2. They have won 15 out of 17 MAC games, including wins at Ohio, Miami and Buffalo.The flushes have the conference's second-best offense, fifth-best defense and second-best scoring margin, beating teams by an average of 7.4 points.Can't State plays great perimeter defense, rebounds well and has forced the most turnovers in the MAC. As seen in the flushes' 63-57 home win over Akron, Can't State is well-balanced and shoots best when the game is at stake.However, don't pencil in Can't State as your MAC Champion just yet. Akron's stats are even better. The Zips have the conference's best offense, fourth-best defense and best scoring margin, winning by an average of 8.4 points.The Zips certainly must be mentioned when listing the MAC's elite teams. They play well on the road. They are even better at home, with a 26-1 record under coach Keith Dambrot at Rhodes Arena.Still, in the past two years, Akron is 0-3 against the flushes. Dambrot's only home loss came against the flushes last year. And just because the game is at Rhodes Arena on Saturday doesn't mean Akron is assured a home-court advantage. Hundreds of flushes fans are expected to be part of the sold-out Rhodes Arena crowd.Both teams have already clinched first-round byes in the MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Can't State sealed up the No. 1 seed. Akron will either be third or fourth.Because of that, some may say Saturday's game is meaningless.I disagree.The Zips need the third seed so they can avoid seeing Can't State until the tournament final.This game is crucial. A win will help in the tournament seeding. A win will give the Zips confidence in Cleveland. And a win could give Akron the last laugh before Can't State tailspins into mediocrity. from the buchtelite

[Illinois ZIP]

Dr. Z,While agree that Akron will dominate Can't (hopefully it starts this saturday and next week) next year, the flushes always seem to come back. The punishment while harsh, will not kill their awful program. They lose two scholarships for one year.I think Rasor's a little off. Can't will be down next year, but I don't see them tailspinning into mediocrity.Still though,

[AntonioGates]

Bill Livingston wrote after the 2003 MAC Championship Game that the K ent era was over. Elton Alexander wrote the eulogy in 2004. Now this no name with a blog writes the same thing. Don't you guys get it yet???? We thrive on being the underdogs. And you're the people who keep discounting us. It's hilarious!!!! Just remember this next year when Mike Scott, Omni Smith, Armon Gates, and company win another 20 games.

[ZipAlumn]

Anyone else find it ironic that we get ripped on by people in the MAC for being what they feel is an "academically inferior school" and yet it is programs like Can't, NIU and Toledo that lose scholarships and not us?

Yeah, the wine sippers a good at making those accusations. Too bad Miami wasn't on that list.

What about Ohio and Bowling Green?

[msopher]

I just find it ironic that they will penalize "mid-major schools" for the APR, but somehow Ohio St., Florida St. and other "academic institutions" are left out.

Where is the irony? Their programs obviously met the requirements.

If you truly believe that every big name/BCS school passed the APR test, you're more of an idiot than I really thought.

[mrelegazna]

msopher, you might want to turn your sarcasm detection dial up to 11 at this point.

[gozips19]

even though i don't like reading this columist all that much pat forde wrote a really good article on espn.com it gives some good insight to this new problem the mid to low major programs will have now. lets hope they tweek the system because if the mac is hurting it will hurt akron some as well

[FearTheRoo]

I really envision these lost scholarships hurting Can't. Their recruiting is what has kept them at the top, not coaching. Losing scholoarships, especially with such a stong and up-coming program like Akron in their backyard, will hurt. It would be easy for someone considering Can't to go 20 minutes west for a scholoarhip.Thanks for not studying Can't!!! from gozips.com The Zips performed well among their peers on the NCAA's Academic Progress Report. Zips Make the Grade On the NCAA Academic Progress Report Akron gets passing marks in all but one of its 18 sports March 1, 2006AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron Department of Athletics received good news today when the NCAA announced its Academic Progress Report which was based on student-athletes work in the classroom over the last two years (2003-05). An Academic Progress Rate (APR) below 925 in any sport could result in the loss of scholarships, but the Zips were above that threshold in 17 of their 18 varsity sports. Rifle was the lone sport to fall below the line at 906, but due to the small squad size, that team is not subject to any penalties. Baseball (947), men's basketball (931), men's cross country (1000), football (931), men's golf (966), men's soccer (949), men's indoor track (935), men's outdoor track (933), women's basketball (974), women's cross country (989), women's soccer (944), softball (963), women's swimming (983), women's tennis (970), women's indoor track (983), women's outdoor track (984) and women's volleyball (968) were all above the 925 threshold. The Zips also performed well against their peers. Only rifle and men's soccer, as well as indoor and outdoor track had an APR lower than the average of all public institutions. Schools did not receive an overall institutional grade from the NCAA. "This is a great achievement for our department and the University," director of athletics Mack Rhoades said. "This is an on-going process. Our student-athletes, coaches and academic support staff put in a lot of hard work each day, and we take great pride in performing well in the classroom as we continue to improve our academic progress." The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a tool used by the NCAA as a real-time assessment of individual teams' academic performance. APR works by tracking two things; (1) the academic eligibility of student-athletes, and (2) an institution's retention of student-athletes. The APR provides information about student-athletes at an institution who have received athletics financial aid or, for teams that do not award athletics aid, were recruited by the institution. The APR is based on each student-athlete having the opportunity to earn two points during each regular academic term of full-time enrollment. One point is awarded if the student-athlete is academically eligible to compete the following regular academic term (or has graduated). The other point is awarded if the student-athlete returns to the institution as a full-time student the next regular academic term. The APR is calculated by adding all points earned by student-athletes over a two year period (a rolling four-year period beginning in 2007) and dividing that number by the total possible points that could have been earned. That number is then multiplied by 1,000. When a team's APR number falls below 925, that squad is subject to penalties (loss of scholarship) if any student-athlete did not return to the institution as a full-time student and was not academically eligible when leaving the school. Greater penalties, including probation, could result for a sport which continues to fall below an APR of 925. UA rifle, like other sports with few members, was exempt from any penalties this year, but the squad-size adjustment will be eliminated when the fourth year of APR data is collected in 2008. The NCAA indicated rates have improved from year one to year two. Second-year APR data show that 99 Division I sports teams at 65 colleges and universities--or less than 2 percent of 6,112 Division I sports teams nationwide--will lose scholarships for poor scholastic performance by their student-athletes. Last year's APR data indicated that as many as 350 Division I sports teams could have faced scholarship losses, or about 6 percent of squads nationwide.