IMG Academy Scandel

[luvmygamecocks]

DOJ just revealed massive college cheating scandal which involves celebrities and others. What I found interesting is that Mark Riddell, the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy in Bradenton FL, was also charged with taking SAT and ACT exams in the place of students for money.

Will be interesting to see if the NCAA investigates all those high profile football recruits at IMG (including Xavier Thomas) who were at the school when the cheating occurred. I always wondered why those top recruits left their homes to attend IMG. Maybe now we know the answer.

 

[luvmygamecocks]

Interesting article on IMG from last year. Had 15 football players rated in top 100 over past two years. Wonder how many had Mr. Riddell take the SAT/ACT for them?

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...y-recruiting-key-to-winning-college-football/

 

[SCexpat38]

Haven't seen this but the NCAA is a sham. Why expect a football player to be a rocket scientist? Why require him to be a student at all? Pay revenue sports athletes to play for you, treat them like the coach -- he's a school employee, he gets paid -- and then if a kid WANTS to attend classes, let him go to class with the money he gets paid to play football.

The haves will continue to have more than the have nots, but it would at least end the pretense that we're dealing with amateur athletics here.

And it also might stop the kind of academic fraud we're seeing perpetuated time and time again.

 

[vehemon]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidc...lications-for-college-athletics/#1718186830cc

 

[SpurCock78]

DOJ just revealed massive college cheating scandal which involves celebrities and others. What I found interesting is that Mark Riddell, the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy in Bradenton FL, was also charged with taking SAT and ACT exams in the place of students for money.

Will be interesting to see if the NCAA investigates all those high profile football recruits at IMG (including Xavier Thomas) who were at the school when the cheating occurred. I always wondered why those top recruits left their homes to attend IMG. Maybe now we know the answer.

If you saw how poorly coached Wilson was you would understand why Thomas left. I believe a couple months later a coach was actually attacked by students. Not a good place to be

 

[BattleshipTexas]

This scandal is a big deal. Texas lost our Tennis coach who took $90k to "recruit" some rich parent's kid and get him admission preference as a tennis player. Southern Cal has four coaches indicted helping kids get sailing or rowing athletic positions.

 

[ReadR00ster]

Haven't seen this but the NCAA is a sham. Why expect a football player to be a rocket scientist? Why require him to be a student at all? Pay revenue sports athletes to play for you, treat them like the coach -- he's a school employee, he gets paid -- and then if a kid WANTS to attend classes, let him go to class with the money he gets paid to play football.

The haves will continue to have more than the have nots, but it would at least end the pretense that we're dealing with amateur athletics here.

And it also might stop the kind of academic fraud we're seeing perpetuated time and time again.

The NCAA is going to do what it wants to. Not sure they expect them to be a rocket science, but to learn SOME trade. The obvious answer to this I think would be let them major in sports like Football major. Baseball major ect.. Letting the players get paid won't happen so long as the NCAA is involved. It would need to be dissolved or schools would need to leave. It's not really a good idea for the sport though to turn into a truly professional league with agents and contract disputes and hold outs. Are they going to allow trades and such? Who going to be in charge of recruiting decision and team decisions? the coaches or the ones ponying up the money for the recruits? It's just way too convoluted to let this go in that direction.

 

[BattleshipTexas]

Ryan Autullo@AutulloAAS

Federal complaint accuses University of Texas men's tennis coach Michael Center of signing a player with little tennis experience to a small scholarship. In exchange, Center got about $90,000. Center told informant that he spent some of the money on UT's new tennis facility.

 

[jimnasium]

Drain the swamp.

 

[uscg1984]

The NCAA is going to do what it wants to. Not sure they expect them to be a rocket science, but to learn SOME trade. The obvious answer to this I think would be let them major in sports like Football major. Baseball major ect.. Letting the players get paid won't happen so long as the NCAA is involved. It would need to be dissolved or schools would need to leave. It's not really a good idea for the sport though to turn into a truly professional league with agents and contract disputes and hold outs. Are they going to allow trades and such? Who going to be in charge of recruiting decision and team decisions? the coaches or the ones ponying up the money for the recruits? It's just way too convoluted to let this go in that direction.

The NFL could step up and spend some of its revenue to establish a D-league or minor league system of some sort. That way, kids who had no interest in academics could go straight to the pros out of high school and those kids who want an education or whose skills haven't developed enough for the pros can go to college and hope to get drafted after their college careers. It would work similarly to baseball. Right now, the NCAA is a defacto minor league for the NFL without it costing the NFL a dime and without players having a chance to make a living doing what they do best.

 

[ExpatCarolinian]

I don’t think we are going to see the major sports implicated in this particular scandal. This one is about money.

Two reasons:

1. Football and basketball coaches at P5 are already millionaires. You’d have to be especially greedy and stupid to need an additional criminal income stream.

2. Fans and media follow every single detail about every recruit, unlike a sport like Tennis or Rowing. If some coach tried to sneak in a kid who had never played the sport, pretty sure that would not go unnoticed.

 

[jimnasium]

Follow da money.

 

[SCexpat38]

The NCAA is going to do what it wants to. Not sure they expect them to be a rocket science, but to learn SOME trade. The obvious answer to this I think would be let them major in sports like Football major. Baseball major ect.. Letting the players get paid won't happen so long as the NCAA is involved. It would need to be dissolved or schools would need to leave. It's not really a good idea for the sport though to turn into a truly professional league with agents and contract disputes and hold outs. Are they going to allow trades and such? Who going to be in charge of recruiting decision and team decisions? the coaches or the ones ponying up the money for the recruits? It's just way too convoluted to let this go in that direction.

I don't disagree with what you're saying. I do think there already are "football" or "basketball" majors, for athletes who are at a school for the purpose of playing a revenue sport. Underwater basketweaving, etc.

As for going to a professional model, I think it could be done, and should be done, and in some way shape or form will eventually happen. I hope so, anyhow.
Will there be obstacles and issues? Yes, undoubtedly.

But right now what we have is essentially a sham. And the NCAA is the biggest conman in the game.

I still love college football, but I'm increasingly of the opinion that it's a broken system.

 

[Brace1]

I don't disagree with what you're saying. I do think there already are "football" or "basketball" majors, for athletes who are at a school for the purpose of playing a revenue sport. Underwater basketweaving, etc.

As for going to a professional model, I think it could be done, and should be done, and in some way shape or form will eventually happen. I hope so, anyhow.
Will there be obstacles and issues? Yes, undoubtedly.

But right now what we have is essentially a sham. And the NCAA is the biggest conman in the game.

I still love college football, but I'm increasingly of the opinion that it's a broken system.

It’s a broken system in your mind because the media keeps pushing it onto the public that it’s messed up. Doesn’t mean it is’ Remember we’re looking at it from the outside, and unless you were a former employee of the NCAA or one of it’s member schools, or an athlete at one you really don’t know what’s going on.

 

[chucktowncock]

scandals everywhere

 

[Angel_Martin]

I don’t think we are going to see the major sports implicated in this particular scandal. This one is about money.

Two reasons:

1. Football and basketball coaches at P5 are already millionaires. You’d have to be especially greedy and stupid to need an additional criminal income stream.

2. Fans and media follow every single detail about every recruit, unlike a sport like Tennis or Rowing. If some coach tried to sneak in a kid who had never played the sport, pretty sure that would not go unnoticed.

The college admissions director at IMG was taking college entrance exams for money. He was good at it. So let’s suppose IMG hired him so he could help the academically marginal football and basketball recruits get accepted into the big schools? Then suppose the Singer guy comes up and asks him if he wants to makes some more money on the side....since you are already doing it and such. That could end up hurting the major sports if schools were funneling these kids and money to IMG to get them academically accepted to their schools. The IMG admissions director is pleading guilty to get a lighter sentence so don’t be surprised if he blows the roof off of IMG.

 

[haneynfl]

DOJ just revealed massive college cheating scandal which involves celebrities and others. What I found interesting is that Mark Riddell, the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy in Bradenton FL, was also charged with taking SAT and ACT exams in the place of students for money.

Will be interesting to see if the NCAA investigates all those high profile football recruits at IMG (including Xavier Thomas) who were at the school when the cheating occurred. I always wondered why those top recruits left their homes to attend IMG. Maybe now we know the answer.

Not maybe, you now know the answer.

 

[haneynfl]

Interesting article on IMG from last year. Had 15 football players rated in top 100 over past two years. Wonder how many had Mr. Riddell take the SAT/ACT for them?

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...y-recruiting-key-to-winning-college-football/

Higher than 75%

 

[atl-cock]

The NFL could step up and spend some of its revenue to establish a D-league or minor league system of some sort. That way, kids who had no interest in academics could go straight to the pros out of high school and those kids who want an education or whose skills haven't developed enough for the pros can go to college and hope to get drafted after their college careers. It would work similarly to baseball. Right now, the NCAA is a defacto minor league for the NFL without it costing the NFL a dime and without players having a chance to make a living doing what they do best.

I can see the AAF taking on some of these roles. Right now, I liken it to AAA football.

 

[Blackland]

I would think that the College Board will be reviewing all of the SAT/ACT tests for graduates of IMG. If they discover which players cheated they will invalidate the test scores, this will lead to academic disqualification for the players involved. The NCAA will have no say in the matter, the institutions will have to dismiss them for fraudulent admission.

 

[Doctor Obvious]

DOJ just revealed massive college cheating scandal which involves celebrities and others. What I found interesting is that Mark Riddell, the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy in Bradenton FL, was also charged with taking SAT and ACT exams in the place of students for money.

Will be interesting to see if the NCAA investigates all those high profile football recruits at IMG (including Xavier Thomas) who were at the school when the cheating occurred. I always wondered why those top recruits left their homes to attend IMG. Maybe now we know the answer.

Little bit off there. In the scandal, they were cheating the SAT to get scores like 1500 so a kid could get into an Ivy or similar. Not the 800 it takes to get into USC or Clemson on a football scholarship. The 800 that anybody can get with a little preparation.

 

[BattleshipTexas]

I don’t think we are going to see the major sports implicated in this particular scandal. This one is about money.

Two reasons:

1. Football and basketball coaches at P5 are already millionaires. You’d have to be especially greedy and stupid to need an additional criminal income stream.

2. Fans and media follow every single detail about every recruit, unlike a sport like Tennis or Rowing. If some coach tried to sneak in a kid who had never played the sport, pretty sure that would not go unnoticed.

The way it would happen is if the IMG compliance guy were taking ACT or SAT tests for big IMG 5 star recruits, then those recruits wouldn't be eligible. It might not implicate the school other than stars being declared ineligible.

 

[BattleshipTexas]

Little bit off there. In the scandal, they were cheating the SAT to get scores like 1500 so a kid could get into an Ivy or similar. Not the 800 it takes to get into USC or Clemson on a football scholarship. The 800 that anybody can get with a little preparation.

That is a good point, not many should need help making the 800 or whatever is necessary as a minimum. But there could be a few that might need it. I am thinking of a high 4-star top 100 WR recruit that came from east Texas but Texas didn't offer because the kid couldn't spell his name and his name was only three letters long. Yet somehow was admitted to another college, stayed in school although suspended for a year at one point and later starred in the NFL. No one at Texas thinks that recruit could score anywhere near minimum entrance level scores. So there are stupid kids and those that can't read or write. See Dexter Manley's story.

 

[Conway Gamecock]

Drain the swamp.

You want to drain the swamp?? Here is how you do it:

End it. Stop doing television deals for collegiate sports. Only set up online streaming for collegiate sports, where the people in charge of the streaming are the universities or the conferences they are part of.

Charge a nominal fee to view the streaming, to pay for the cost of services. No profit. Otherwise, you want to see the games, then buy a ticket, or listen to a radio broadcast or free audio stream, or read about it in the news the next day. Don't like that? TOO BAD!

Conferences can set up bowl game affiliations, to create revenue for the participating programs. With basketball, the NCAA can set up a streaming feed at a nominal fee to pay for the cost of services. No profit. Otherwise, you want to see the games, then buy a ticket, or listen to a radio broadcast or free audio stream, or read about it in the news the next day. Don't like that? TOO BAD!

 

[anon_n4c0cp5zhdxn7]

Haven't seen this but the NCAA is a sham. Why expect a football player to be a rocket scientist? Why require him to be a student at all? Pay revenue sports athletes to play for you, treat them like the coach -- he's a school employee, he gets paid -- and then if a kid WANTS to attend classes, let him go to class with the money he gets paid to play football.

The haves will continue to have more than the have nots, but it would at least end the pretense that we're dealing with amateur athletics here.

And it also might stop the kind of academic fraud we're seeing perpetuated time and time again.

Shoot, why stop there. shouldn't a high school or middle school football player get paid too? I saw an elementary school spelling bee on tv, those kids should be making bank. If they want to attend class too, so be it.

 

[Jpcooper]

Interesting article on IMG from last year. Had 15 football players rated in top 100 over past two years. Wonder how many had Mr. Riddell take the SAT/ACT for them?

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...y-recruiting-key-to-winning-college-football/

It seems to relate to non revenue sports if one read the article. Also, in the article it said none of the people the students they took the test for knew that this happened, that their parents Pd for this to occur. So non revenue, ncaa not involved, student not aware

 

[Jpcooper]

The NCAA is going to do what it wants to. Not sure they expect them to be a rocket science, but to learn SOME trade. The obvious answer to this I think would be let them major in sports like Football major. Baseball major ect.. Letting the players get paid won't happen so long as the NCAA is involved. It would need to be dissolved or schools would need to leave. It's not really a good idea for the sport though to turn into a truly professional league with agents and contract disputes and hold outs. Are they going to allow trades and such? Who going to be in charge of recruiting decision and team decisions? the coaches or the ones ponying up the money for the recruits? It's just way too convoluted to let this go in that direction.

This isn’t an NCAA issue... F B I. Not helping student athletes attend. Helping rich kids attend prominent universities not to play sports, just appear to be on the roster

 

[midline]

Seriously, has anyone been niave enough to think that IMG and some of these other academy types weren't playing the system in some fashion all of these years?

 

[Conway Gamecock]

I liked IMG Academy better when they were just teaching Andre Agassi and Monica Seles how to play tennis....

 

[FORKCOCK]

Haven't seen this but the NCAA is a sham. Why expect a football player to be a rocket scientist? Why require him to be a student at all? Pay revenue sports athletes to play for you, treat them like the coach -- he's a school employee, he gets paid -- and then if a kid WANTS to attend classes, let him go to class with the money he gets paid to play football.

The haves will continue to have more than the have nots, but it would at least end the pretense that we're dealing with amateur athletics here.

And it also might stop the kind of academic fraud we're seeing perpetuated time and time again.

We're talking about right now. There are rules.

 

[flatwoodcock]

DOJ just revealed massive college cheating scandal which involves celebrities and others. What I found interesting is that Mark Riddell, the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy in Bradenton FL, was also charged with taking SAT and ACT exams in the place of students for money.

Will be interesting to see if the NCAA investigates all those high profile football recruits at IMG (including Xavier Thomas) who were at the school when the cheating occurred. I always wondered why those top recruits left their homes to attend IMG. Maybe now we know the answer.

Well cheating, IMG and Clemson all go together and i hope they find something on lifelong Gamecock growing up "Xavier Thomas".

 

[Doctor Obvious]

That is a good point, not many should need help making the 800 or whatever is necessary as a minimum. But there could be a few that might need it. I am thinking of a high 4-star top 100 WR recruit that came from east Texas but Texas didn't offer because the kid couldn't spell his name and his name was only three letters long. Yet somehow was admitted to another college, stayed in school although suspended for a year at one point and later starred in the NFL. No one at Texas thinks that recruit could score anywhere near minimum entrance level scores. So there are stupid kids and those that can't read or write. See Dexter Manley's story.

Dexter wasn’t so bad. We played basketball with him in Houston a few times. More personable than the other high profile guys in his particular situation at the time.

 

[lowcountry_cock13]

Just do away with the 3 year rule. If kids wanna try their luck out of HS in NFL then let them, if not play by the rules of the current system. It gives the athlete the choice to use a university as a training/preparation system which has a ton of value but at least they the choice.

 

[vehemon]

scandals everywhere

 

[18IsTheMan]

The NFL could step up and spend some of its revenue to establish a D-league or minor league system of some sort. That way, kids who had no interest in academics could go straight to the pros out of high school and those kids who want an education or whose skills haven't developed enough for the pros can go to college and hope to get drafted after their college careers. It would work similarly to baseball. Right now, the NCAA is a defacto minor league for the NFL without it costing the NFL a dime and without players having a chance to make a living doing what they do best.

With that system, all your 5* and probably all of your 4* (or a great majority) and decent number of 3* would never set foot on campus. That means you'd have college teams composed almost entirely of 3* and 2* guys. Interest in college football would vanish overnight.

 

[GClover]

The way it would happen is if the IMG compliance guy were taking ACT or SAT tests for big IMG 5 star recruits, then those recruits wouldn't be eligible. It might not implicate the school other than stars being declared ineligible.

Who would be paying the test takers?

 

[king ward]

This is a big deal. If a person can buy - bribe - his/her kid's way into school by circumventing the normal admission process to target one corrupt functionary, where does it end? As for this Loughlin girl going $500k to get her daughters into Southern Cal as rowers, which they are not, are you kidding me? If you're going to do something as crazy as that, why not aim higher?

 

[coolcock2001]

Time to put Clemson down like a wild dog

 

[92Pony]

Time to put Clemson down like a wild dog

Nothing would brighten my day more!

 

[yesiam#]

The NFL could step up and spend some of its revenue to establish a D-league or minor league system of some sort. That way, kids who had no interest in academics could go straight to the pros out of high school and those kids who want an education or whose skills haven't developed enough for the pros can go to college and hope to get drafted after their college careers. It would work similarly to baseball. Right now, the NCAA is a defacto minor league for the NFL without it costing the NFL a dime and without players having a chance to make a living doing what they do best.

That would mean NCAA would lose Billions. Do you think they will let that happen?