I'm going to brag for a minute. The NCAA just released Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures for Division I-A schools. This new measurement was created to account for the high rate of transferring that occurs among college students, student athletes included. Now, here comes the bragging.

Among Division I-A schools, Notre Dame tops the list with programs scoring 100% graduation rates with 16 of 20 (80%) teams posting complete graduation figures. In football, ND posted a 96 GSR, with only the Naval Academy, at 98, scoring higher. None of the other BCS teams this year made the top 10. In fact, the next closest is Penn State with an 86 GSR. ND has been struggling with its identity as a football powerhouse versus an academic powerhouse for the last two decades. I think these results prove, it is possible to be both. See, there are no "easy" majors at Notre Dame. There are no majors populated almost exclusively by athletes as you'll find at many universities. The most commonly cited "easy" majors are Psychology and Marketing. No cake walk there. Furthermore, all athletes have to fulfill the same basic liberal arts requirements that all Notre Dame students have. This means taking at least two semesters a piece of English, math, social science and science classes, in addition to fulfilling theology and philosophy requirements.  Ballroom dancing is not an option for credit.

Last year, several notable alums called for the University to relax its academic standards to recruit better athletes. This year's on-field success, using the same athletes Ty Willingham recruited and groomed, coupled with the demonstrated classroom success, shows the fallacy of taking that path. Athletes are athletes. Some are more physically blessed than others, and some are more intellectually gifted than others. Notre Dame has always been, and will continue to be able to recruit good athletes. What sets a team apart is execution. And smart teams execute better, and at a higher level, than merely athletically gifted ones. Smart athletes are bale to grasp more complex systems, as Charlie Weis' tutelage has demonstrated, that can usually overcome brute force.

As an ND student, I was pleased to know that the football players were being held to the same standards as the rest of us. Sure they had extra tutoring options, but they also had a much larger and more time consuming extracurricular commitment than I did. As an alum, I'm proud to see the graduation rate mimic that of the overall school population. I can only hope the University continues to place the same importance on "scholar" part of scholar-athlete as they have in the past.

Sorry to have been slow to post lately. Unfortunately, the real job has been demanding this past week. Happy holidays!