Football team's GPA rises

[TheBisonator]

It's just a sliver under a 3.0 average. Not only are our guys getting it done on the field, but off the field as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bison record best GPA in nine years
By Jeff Kolpack, The Forum
Published Wednesday, June 30, 2004


Craig Bohl's first year at North Dakota State resulted in success on the field, off the field and in the classroom, with his football team having a cumulative grade-point average of 2.97 in the spring semester.

It was a hat trick of sorts for a head coach.

The Bison finished 54 percent better than the previous year.

The only brush with law enforcement was a minor in possession charge last summer. The 95 players' cumulative GPA was the highest in the nine years the program has tracked those figures.

Ten players had a 4.0 including starting quarterback Tony Stauss, who accomplished his in mathematics.

Twenty-nine players had a 3.5 or better and 57 had a 3.0 or better.

"We identified a lot of players that needed encouragement and we put some structure with it," Bohl said. "A lot of players responded to that."

NDSU's recent GPAs have fluctuated from 2.78 in the fall of 2001 to 2.9 in the spring of 2003. Assistant coach Brent Vigen, who has been in the program either as a player or coach since 1993, said NDSU's move to Division I was one reason for the higher GPA this spring.

Division I admission standards in general are higher than those of Division II. For instance, a player with a 17 ACT score needs a 2.0 core high school GPA to qualify whereas that same ACT score in Division I requires a 2.5, Vigen said.

"I think you'll see the difference," he said.

NDSU didn't officially begin the Division I academic criteria until this fall's incoming freshman class, but began making strides toward it last year.

"We wanted to make sure some kids didn't dig a hole," Vigen said.

The NCAA recently passed new progress-toward-degree requirements for Division I. That means players are required to pass a certain percentage of classes in their core curriculum.

"The monitoring has to be more intense early in their career," Vigen said. "As kids figure out what they want to major in, being on the field and eligible to play is an extreme motivator."

NDSU's program had its share of off-the-field problems in the mid-1990s. That diminished under former head coach Bob Babich and the trend continued with Bohl, who has been on the job for almost 16 months.

"I know how it is when things go south," Bohl said. "I would like the public to know what our players are doing off the field. It's important for our players to represent NDSU well off the field and we stress off-the-field behavior."

About the only disciplinary note of significance was the dismissal of cornerback Frank Irby early last season. Bohl cited a violation of team rules and would not elaborate. It was not an issue with local police.

"There are a lot of things our players are involved with, like the Special Olympics," Bohl said. "That's a message that needs to get out."

[Bisonfan1234]

This looks nice in the papers, but who the hell gives a shit how well our team does academically?!

All I care about is if they know their X's and O's.

[IowaBison]

this story is huge

as a new Teammaker, 6 weeks and counting, it makes me feel good that the scholarships we're funding aren't going to a bunch of dummies who are good at sports.

i'd trade a couple of losses for the ill-repute of some teams, i.e. the ones whose graduation rates are under 20 %

[IL_Bison]

As for who gives a s*&t about GPA, I know the administration as well as players and parents likely care quite a bit. Probably 99% of these players will not play pro football after college. Certain universities that don't graduate their players receive lots of bad press, I know U of Cincinatti b-ball received flak about their graduation rate during the NCAA tournament last year (under Bob Huggins...0% graduation rate). Anyway, 1234 is probably trying to get a rise out of somebody, so I'll stop, I could go on and on and on.

[Bisonfan1234]

It's just another example of the unfounded, rediculous expectation of the general public on high level college athletes. FB is a full time job at these levels. How many people work a full time job and then take 15 credits a semester?! It's just unrealistic and I could care less how well our boys do in the classroom so long as they get it done on the field.

If they DO somehow find a way to excel on the field and in the classroom, good for them.

[IowaBison]

I'm pretty sure bison1234 is calling it like he sees it IlBison

[BisonMav]

FB is a full time job at these levels. How many people work a full time job and then take 15 credits a semester?!

I've worked full time and went to school full time, and know many others that have done it. *I am sure football players can do it too. *Not sure about 1234.

[Bison_Dan]

Your best overall teams usually have the smarter players. To say that you don't care about student athlete grades is like saying you don't care about them. The smarter the better: PERIOD!

[Bisonfan1234]

Right, that's why Notre Dame and Standford have been having fantastic seasons of late.

[Bison7925]

1234,

Is that the Notre Dame who was considered for a BCS bowl 2 years ago ???

And which Standford are you talking about ???

[roadwarrior]

I was getting ready to write a response to 1234's comment, but decided its not worth my time to respond to such an idiotic statement.

[bisononce]

Unlike some of you, I will not respond to 1234's rantings. No, I will not crit the spelling - Standford, rediculous - because those who do get called onto the literary carpet; it's the message that matters, not the spelling and punctuation, etc. So what if the message is incoherent. Nah, I won't call 12 an idiot... ;)

[WYOBISONMAN]

Maybe it is time we all ignore his stupid rants....Hard to believe such ignorance from an NDSU grad..... ::)

[BisonInTexas]

I don't know if we can take that leap and assume that 1234 graduated...

;)
Craig

[tony]

Something to shoot for: 100% graduation rates.

AFCA story (http://www.afca.com/Lev2.cfm/540)

I personally don't know if 100% is attainable... too many guys transfer to area DII or DIII schools for more playing time or whatnot, but it's something to shoot for.

Then again, depending on how they calculate the rates nowadays, a guy who transfers out and ends up graduating from Minn-Duluth or St. John's or wherever might actually count toward the 100%.

[Bisonfan1234]

OMG...are you guys serious.

Do you ever actually look at your keyboards?

The "D" key is right next to the "F" key. It was a typo...but live it up instead of posting a counter-argument.

That's called an ad hominem btw, look it up.

[IowaBison]

an honest mistake for a doper

[Junior]

This looks nice in the papers, but who the hell gives a shit how well our team does academically?!

All I care about is if they know their X's and O's.

It would be nice if some members remembered their P's and Q's

[Bisonfan1234]

You mean "pints" and "quarts"?

Yeah, Ok drunkie.

[Bison7925]

1234,

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are an idiot, than continuing to open it and proving their point ;D

[BisonInTexas]

You mean "pints" and "quarts"?

Yeah, Ok drunkie.

I think that would be an ad hominem attack (note that ad hominem is an adjective, not a noun). As I think have heard somewhere on this thread earlier - look it up.

Craig

[Bisonfan1234]

Ad hominem is a noun, it means to attack the presenter of an argument personally in place of presenting a counter-argument.

We weren't talking about the original topic so it wasn't an ad hominem relative to the topic.

[Schemer]

FB is a full time job at these levels. How many people work a full time job and then take 15 credits a semester?!

Wow, more witty insight from 1234

...I worked 40 hrs/week AND took 15+ credits. Come on, thats only 11 hrs a day.

[tony]

"Ad hominem is a noun, it means to attack..."

That sounds like you think "ad hominem" is a verb. You could replace the "to attack" with "an attack." It still wouldn't be a noun though, but at least you'd be demonstrating that you know the difference between a noun and a verb.

I'm think of "verbal-izing" BisonFan1234, a noun defined as "person who espouses a lot of nonsense to hijack threads, quite possibly to annoy." It's usage would go like this, "Rats. Another thread BisonFan1234ed."

[Bisonfan1234]

An Ad Hominem is NOT a verb. It's not an action of a person. It is a noun that discribes the actions of a person and yet is not an action itself.

Verb = run, Noun = thing. An Ad Hominem is a thing.

[Junior]

You mean "pints" and "quarts"?

Yeah, Ok drunkie.

MIND YOUR P's AND Q's

This expression, means "be very careful to behave correctly"

Ad Hominem, I think not. *That would imply there was actually an initial argument or a valid point being made. *Which there was not. *Lets call a spade a spade here. *It was a PERSONAL ATTACK. *Not that I care. * Besides, the Burden of Proof lies somewhere else and not with me. *Typically it is the responsibility of the person making the far fetched claim or claims that are not universially accepted by the majority. *

Originally I was only asking people to play nice. *Jeez

But anyway, *IMO, student athletes should be held to a higher level of accountability. *I don't expect them to all be 4.0 students but they should at least try and make the most of thier college experience. *I'm glad NDSU is taking the issue seriously. *It helps to cast a positive image on the university. *Just my opinion though. *I'll go back to drinking now. **burp* *

[Bisonfan1234]

Mind your p's and q's literally means mind your pints and quarts from England when bartenders would want patrons to pay their tabs.

[Junior]

Mind your p's and q's literally means mind your pints and quarts from England when bartenders would want patrons to pay their tabs.

That is one of about 5 theories. That one originated around the turn of the 20th century. Or when bartenders wanted partons to settle down or to help sailors keep track of their drinks or to help children learn their letters or to help the early printing press operators remember to install the correct letter because they were backwards on the press. No one really knows the exact origin.

However, the earliest citation recorded for this use in the OED (1779), "You must mind your P's and Q's with him, I can tell you," expressed the need for careful behavior in the face of potential criticism ...or worse. Or "to make an effort to be especially polite in a particular situation"

And this is what I meant!

[Bisonfan1234]

That is one of about 5 theories. *That one originated around the turn of the 20th century. * Or when bartenders wanted partons to settle down or to help sailors keep track of their drinks or to help children learn their letters or to help the early printing press operators remember to install the correct letter because they were backwards on the press. *No one really knows the exact origin.

However, the earliest citation recorded for this use in the OED (1779), "You must mind your P's and Q's with him, I can tell you," expressed the need for careful behavior in the face of potential criticism ...or worse. *Or "to make an effort to be especially polite in a particular situation"

And this is what I meant!




Yeah...that version makes particularly good sense since I automatically associate P and Q with poliet behavior.

::)

[Junior]

Please and Thank You.

[Bisonfan1234]

Q = thank you?

[Trimmy]

If you say "thank you", it sounds like "thain-kew" or "thain-Q", hence the Q. That's my theory anyway.

[BisonInTexas]

Ad hominem is a noun, it means to attack the presenter of an argument personally in place of presenting a counter-argument.

We weren't talking about the original topic so it wasn't an ad hominem relative to the topic.

Uh, no. Ad Hominem is not a noun - it is either an adjective or an adverb.

Like I said - look it up.

ad hominem (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ad%20hominem)

Craig

[Bisonfan1234]

Sorry, it's a logical fallacy: a thing. Noun.

Here's a real definition of it anyway: http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem.html

[BisonInTexas]

Sorry, it's a logical fallacy: a thing. Noun.

Here's a real definition of it anyway: http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem.html

nizkor.org better inform Meriam-Webster that they have been wrong all of these years. Talk about logical fallacies...

I am beginning to see how you form most of your opinions though...

Craig

[Bisonfan1234]

Dictionary.com is nothing more than a run-of-the mill definition.

You honestly think that because it's dictionary.com that it's the end all, be all of human language?!

There are editors for those sites and they are human, most likely paid by the word. IE the faster you do the words, the faster you get paid.

[BisonInTexas]

Let me get this straight. *Dictionary.com is not a credible source for the English language, but nizkor.org is? *

You honestly think that dictionary.com writes a dictionary? *They merely reference other dictionaries, in this case:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

How about Merriam-Webster? *Are they a good enough reference for you?
ad hominem (http://www.meriamwebster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=ad+hominem&x=0&y=0)

Or how about another reference on logical fallacies that actually uses ad hominem as an adjective or adverb?

ad hominem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem)

They all must be wrong so that you can be right?

It must be a wonderful place, that world that you live in.

Craig

[Bisonfan1234]

I never said that it can't be an adverb or adjective (notice how I say "it", further proof that it can be used as a noun).

I simply disagree with your theory that it CAN'T be a noun.


BTW, ALL of those dictionaries that dictionary.com is referencing have editors. HUMAN editors. Ones that probably get paid per word. Etc.

[BisonInTexas]

(notice how I say "it", further proof that it can be used as a noun).

This is hilarious. Referring to a word as "it" automatically proves it is a noun.

This means that, say, "idiotically" is also a noun because it is an adverb (notice how I say "it", further proof that it can be used as a noun).

Keep trying.

P.S. Great job by the football team on the GPA.

[BisonMav]

BTW, ALL of those dictionaries that dictionary.com is referencing have editors. HUMAN editors. Ones that probably get paid per word. Etc.

Paid by the Government of course. ;D
Corporate editors are more efficient.

[TheBisonator]

Well, we kinda went off on a tangent, didn't we?

And I mean a HUUUUGE tangent...

[Bisonfan1234]

This is hilarious. *Referring to a word as "it" automatically proves it is a noun.

This means that, say, "idiotically" is also a noun because it is an adverb (notice how I say "it", further proof that it can be used as a noun).

Keep trying.

P.S. Great job by the football team on the GPA.

Yes, any particular word can be used as a noun since they are all things. You just need to be referring to the word and not using the words definition.

Now you understand.

[BisonInTexas]

Yes, any particular word can be used as a noun since they are all things. You just need to be referring to the word and not using the words definition.

Now you understand.


Even funnier!

Guess we better tell those dictionary editors that they have to make all words a noun regardless of their definition.

I give up.

[Bisonfan1234]

I was simply pointing that out.

Ad Hominem remains a noun.

[dnk]

Holy shit! I knew I should have gone to bed. ::)

[WYOBISONMAN]

It's just fucking incredible....... ::)

[Bisonguy]

Nice editorial from The Forum:


Forum editorial: Bohl, Bison players get bouquets
The Forum
Published Monday, July 05, 2004
PRAIRIE ROSES: To North Dakota State University head football coach Craig Bohl, his staff, members of his team, and the athletic department, for taking care of things on the academic side of the ball as well as on the Fargodome's artificial turf. Not only did Bohl lead the Bison to an 8-3 record in his first year at the helm, he paid attention to things in the classroom. So did his players.

The team scored a cumulative grade-point-average of 2.97 in the spring semester, just a hair shy of a "B." That GPA for his 95 players was the highest in the nine years the program has tracked those figures. Ten of the Bison had perfect 4.0 GPAs, no small accomplishment when one considers the amount of time they must invest in their sport. Another 29 players had a 3.5 or better and 57 had a 3.0 or better.

The academic standards are more difficult to meet now that NDSU has moved to Division I-AA, but Bohl and his staff have put team members in a position to succeed by providing the incentive and encouragement for them to do so. That's what we call leadership.

We think Athletic Director Gene Taylor made a great hire in Bohl, a disciplinarian who also has his players engaged in outside community activities like Special Olympics. We can hardly wait for the Bison to crank it up this fall. Nice going, Coach Bohl, and all 95 team members.

[bisononce]

Dirty little secret is - we've got an overqualified guy, even by Bison footballl standards. We've got to keep him, at least for a while. We can do this by supporting Coach Bohl and the team in every way. If he wants improvement in facilities, to fill the stands or more $ for scholarships - let's get behind it. Do letters to editors, up your contribution to Teammakers, gather friends and neighbors & get to the game and contact Gene Taylor to say, "what can I do to help?" And wear the green and yellow to the game.

SUPPORT!

[Tatanka]

++