Also, I agree with the previous posters comment that we should have a large group of UGA fans show up at the Troup graduation. This would be a huge show of support for one of our newest dawgs as well as show that we, as UGA fans, value education as well as athletics. See what you can do about spreading the word Mr. Carvell, the NCAA is already unhappy with you!

Speaking of Adams and since it is he and he alone who is responsible for the state of our basketball program, did anyone read about the guy Memphis hired? I’ll certainly give this guy Fox all the time he needs to prove himself. But as more hires are done it is becoming increasingly apparent that we did not get the best available guy. I think Evans is fine as AD as long as nothing major needs to be done. He’s fine at keeping the ship on course, but if he ever needs to actually DRIVE the boat, it might run aground.

Law must conform itself as nearly as humanly possible to ethcial principle. Where a law conflicts with ethical principle, it cannot bind anyone’s conscience. You cannot be morally bound to do something unethical or omit something ethical.

Therefore, Richt should apply for the waiver, and if it is denied, go anyway, submitting to the repercussions for his violation.

The NCAA is not God.

Personally, I think that the NCAA should be ENCOURAGING ALL of their Collegiate Coaches to attend High School graduations in support of these young men to emphasize the importance of this aspect of the need of the full commitment to be sucessful in College and life after football.

I actually don’t think that there is a rule called the “graduation ceremonies” rule, as much as this would come under the heading of limited contact. But on that for a minute, does anyone think that there would never be a highly saught after high school junior that just happen to be at a high school graduation. Plus where do you draw the line? Coaches can go spend unlimited time talking to anyone as long as “somebody” there had signed a LOI. Or what if Urban Meyers just happens to be really proud or Aaron Murray, even though he had signed with UGA. Why can’t he go to his graduation and tell him so? (just an example, spare me your idiot responce gatorboy) Or is there going to be some assigned person there with a stopwatch and clipboard? This all makes for great drama, and ranting, but the NCAA does not sit around an invent ways to keep coaches from celebrating academic acheivement. They do sit around and try to think of ways to limit out of control year round recruiting.

Go anyway? Well IF he had been Top of the class, maybe. But now, the point would be more JUST to break a rule, more than the original intent. What about next year, and the next honor student?

As far the rest I have chimed in on on every piece written on this episode so far . For the people claiming this is a “publicity stunt” there is one fact that is beyond arguement . Without the dumb ass Byzantine labyrinth of the NCAA there would be no publicity to be had past a few local papers.

As a Tide fan I certainly wouldn’t be commenting on it if Richt had decided to attend the graduation of a kid he had ALREADY SIGNED . The fact this is even an issue has absolutely zero to do with Richt , the Dawgs or whether some Tech fans can get over the thrashings in football the Bulldogs have dispensed on their team over the decades . (Tokyo you have made clear where you stand so I did put SOME Tech fans )

IF Georgia decides to pursue this and IF it is a “publicity stunt” to some short sighted peoples eyes , there is NO organization on the planet to thank for that except the NCAA . It has NOTHING to do what so ever with anything or anybody else’s personal issues with the Dawgs , their mothers or the neighborhood kids who stole their lunch money when they were growing up ….

History, you’re VERY VERY WRONG on one important point. Communism was not guided by an over inflated sense of self worth, but an almost non-existent sense of self worth. It’s the collective 100% of the time over the individual’s need and wants. In fact, prior to Gorbachev, Soviet rulers would go on and on about how lavish and self indulgent the citizens of the US are and say that we could never even be soviets because it would be too hard for us and our egos. Maybe before you preach history, you should take Post-WW1 101. I hope you’re a freshmen history major, rather than history graduate.

If several hundred or more of us attend the graduation for Burdette and cheer him for his academic accomplishments before he steps on the football field, think if the message that will send to all involved.

Frank Lane

@The Big Bug and others:
Re #1 & 2: Your fervor on this makes you seem pretty angsty. You can usually tell the depth of a bruised ego by the anger unleashed when it’s touched… kinda like a sunburn.

And keep in mind that you’re fighting this fight with regards to CMR wanting to reward academics… It’s like if there was an article titled “GT to celebrate first attractive coed to attend in 40 years!!!” and the Dawg fans took up arms. (I kid).

Re #3: Answer- pretty flippin’ good.

Re #4: There may not be basket weaving at GT, but a quick skim through the online Fall 2009 course catalog found this gem:

LCC 3661 – Theatre Production III
Description: “In this ‘hands-on’ course, students will create and execute a publicity campaign and operate the box office for DramaTech Theatre productions. ”

And while it may not involve baskets, GT does offer this nugget:
PTFE 3200 – Yarn & Fabric Formation
Description: “Principles of yarn formation, weaving preparation and weaving.”

The point is: Arguments like “Hrrrmmmm Dawgs are so unintelligent, flavin!” = *yawn*

(For the record, the same goes for “Yarp, yarp, Techies are nerds! Yarp!” but I’m a UGA fan and the GT people ticked me off on this one for some reason. PS Nice post heeldawg.)

Let’s start at the top.
1) No Yellowjacket has a bruised ego. Ask anyone.

2) ga has won 60% overall. Serious angst.

3) what’s a 5.12 GPA?

4)Tech’s SAT requirements are about 100 pts higher. But more importantly, there is no basket weaving at Tech.

There are some fine schools at UGA & no doubt some student athletes. But GA can accept some athletes that Tech cannot. Maybe I should say they can accept them but they’ll be gone soon much like the BB one-and-dones.

When I was at Tech, I was told by an administrator that half the counties in Georgia had never had a public high school graduate in turn, graduate from GT.

What kind of pricks knock on a kid who’s got a 5.+ GPA?

Now, onto the real subject, I’m one of the few Tech fans that respects Richt. But, I will lose some of that respect if he doesn’t stand up for what he believes is right, for academics, and for HIS player (already signed LOI). If he doesn’t go, as a mother/father of potential recruits, I wouldn’t want to hear about how he raises boys to be young men and his faith. Faith and belief are meaningless without conviction. Good luck CMR, please make the right decision and take the opportunity to put the NCAA back in their box a little bit.

I’m a Jackets fan but Coach Richt is trying to do the right thing. Isn’t this what Myle Brands and the NCAA wants, recognizing its students-athletes.

Get over it.

We all understand that losing to your archrival 70% of the time over the last four decades will cause angst. We understand the average Tech fan’s obsessive need to validate his bruised and battered ego by using the old, tired “academics” argument repetitively. But you miss the entire point of this.

How often is it that a FBS college-level athlete simultaneously achieves this level of academic excellence?

How often is it that any kid at the high school level drives himself to excel in this fashion in two such disparate arenas?

To denigrate the kid’s accomplishments on the basis of the school he attends is mean-spirited and unfair. He took the cards he was dealt and played them quite well,thank you. Shame on you, M.

To pretend you know what Tech would do with his admissions data is the height of hubris, Old News. You think the Jackets wouldn’t admit a kid of his caliber–a stellar high school athlete with an 1180 SAT who has a 5.12 GPA? And they admitted such noted scholars as Reggie Ball? Uh, yeah. I’m sure you’re right.

The fact is, Tech’s freshman class and Georgia’s freshman class aren’t that far apart statistically. Tech’s SAT average is slightly higher; Georgia’s GPA is slightly higher. And Georgia’s class is over twice the size of Tech’s. You engineers do the math on that one: Georgia enrolls more outstanding students, on the basis of sheer numbers, than Tech does EVERY YEAR. The Georgia Honors Program–one of the largest in the country–has average SATs of over 1400 and GPAs of over 4.00. And U.Ga. produces most of the state’s lawyers, businessmen, doctors, journalists, teachers and pharmacists. The School of Forestry is one of he best in the world. And the Institute of Ecology is a cutting-edge collection of scholars like no other in the U.S.

Georgia’s had plenty of outstanding student-athletes during the Richt era. Look at Richard Samuel, with a 1420 SAT and a 4.2 GPA, who finished high school a year early and enrolled at Georgia as a 16-year-old. Or Aaron Murray, with a 1400 SAT and a 4.55 GPA. These are two high school All-Americans who you’ll see a good bit of in the coming years. And they are outstanding–both on the field and in the classroom.

Tech fans have earned bragging rights for their well-deserved win last fall. But that’s bragging rights for football. It has nothing to do with denigrating a young man’s fine academic performance–or with the fabrication of false “data” about the academic programs at our state’s leading educational institution.

Sincerely,
Georgia Tech – CE’09

Should they grant an exception if Burnette Graduated 3rd in the class. He is obviously a very bright student, but what about a kid that really struggled, from a poor backgroung, who really pulled it together to just graduate. Thats a pretty good story too. Is that an exception?

UGA started in 1785, which precedes our football program. Secondly, there is no Recreation and Leisure major at UGA. The closest thing to Recreation and Leisure would be anything offered at Tech other than Engineering.