Posted by mailman7 on October 5, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I sure hope that Bernard Scott gets drafted by the NFL because he is a great talent, and will not make it otherwise. Hasn't passed a class in 2 years.

Posted by unsub on October 5, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Gee, aren't there rules about atheletes having to maintain grades to be able to play?

Don't make statements like "Hasn't passed a class in 2 years", unless you can back it up with facts.

Posted by gdw932 on October 5, 2008 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mailman7, what a cowardly thing to say using a screen name. If you want to make ridiculous, uninformed, idiotic statements like that why dont you end it with your full name. Your pathetic.

Posted by karla.martin on October 5, 2008 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ACU takes academics seriously. The athletes, no matter what sport they participate in, have to be accountable for their grades, or they do not play. I do know, if the athlete is struggling in a course, the coaches go out of their way to find them help so they can not only be successful athletes, but successful scholars. Go Wildcats!!!!!

Posted by parrottj on October 5, 2008 at 10:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mailman7 is probably just mad that he got taken off his mail route.

Sometimes all we can do about such ignorance is smile and focus on more important things in life.

Posted by John75 on October 5, 2008 at 11:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I played football at ACU and I can guarantee that academics is taken very seriously and the coaches rigorously observe the students and inspect their academic progress. The Administration must submit progress reports about every athlete and their academic progress to the NCAA every semester. The rules currently are (or were when I was a student athlete):
1. Every student has to declare a major after two years and attend classes in the progression of their selected major.
2. The student athlete must take and pass 24 credit hours per year with only 3 summer school hours being allowed per year.
3. The student athlete must maintain a 2.0 GPA

These academic standards are not the most stringent, and I certainly agree that many student athletes struggle with the challenge of balancing a rigors practice schedule while meeting demanding academic requirements, but to imply that Mr. Scott has not passed a class in two years is a slanderous indictment of the ACU program and Bernard himself.

Posted by dr__dawggy on October 6, 2008 at 4:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Too bad the focus on the football team and its accomplishments has been hijacked by a clueless flame thrower.

Back to the game and team:

This is an exciting team to watch--A balanced offense, with multiple weapons running or throwing the ball and a solid offensive line. On the other side of the ball, an aggressive, opportunistic defense is vastly improved over last year.

The quality of football is quite good for a d2 school. I wonder why there aren't more fans in the stands?

Posted by mulligun on October 6, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mailman7 is obviously one of those characters that spends his ever waking moment looking for anything about ACU and Churches of Christ so he can make a stupid uninformed statement. I feel sorry for you mailman7, did you ever graduate from elementary school? If you did let me know where so I can check with your teachers and I bet they will tell us you were the class clown or the class idiot or possibly both. Stick to what you know for a fact, not what you think, because you certainly don't think very well.

Posted by shopgirl on October 6, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mailman 7,

You obviously do not know your NCAA rules on eligibility. In order for Mr. Scott to be eligible to play this fall, Mr. Scott had to pass 12 hours of classes last spring/summer which allows him to show that he's making "academic progress". My guess is he took some very easy classes at ACU with professors who are "lenient" toward athletes and as long as those athletes show up for class, the profs "give" them a passing grade. Not all professors are like that, however. Many of them are just as strict on athletes as they are all students. I'm pretty sure the coaching staff at ACU knows which professors fit into which category!!

However, if Mr. Scott is NOT attending classes anymore this fall because he expects he'll get drafted next spring, he is not breaking any NCAA rules that would prevent him to participate or play this fall.

The REAL question that should be asked, however, is that if Mr. Scott has decided to stop attending classes, why does ACU allow him to keep playing? This should be a question of ACU's policy/position on making sure its athletes are not making a joke of ACU's commitment to academic integrity, ethics and fairness.

If all of the other football players and athletes are "required" to attend classes so they will eventually be in a position to graduate, (and because they are not good enough to get drafted), why does Mr. Scott get off "Scott-free"??? (no pun intended!)

Posted by John75 on October 6, 2008 at 5:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree the NCAA model is broken and it is true that some athletes do stop attending classes their senior year or even more common they will stop attending classes shortly after the last game of the season. The coaches do check attendance during the semester so the student must go, but once the season is complete there is no recourse for the coaches against the student if they stop attending or never complete a single assignment for the semester. I also agree that Mr. Scott would not have to pass a single class this year to be eligible for the full football season as the entire season is completed the first semester. There is nothing that ACU or the coaching staff can do if a player stops going to class after the season.

My main point was that you said that Mr. Scott, “has not had not passed a class in 2 years” For him to be eligible for this semester he must have a minimum of 72 credit hours (12 hours a semester X 6 semester) from either classes he took at ACU or transferred in from his Junior College.

I can not speak to his current attendance record at ACU but his required 72 credit hours is a long way from saying that he has not passes a class in 2 years.

Just for the record about ACU’s commitment to the student athlete, the university (not athletics department so it does not count against the team) will give a scholarship to any student athlete who completes their eligibility (equal to what their scholarship was the last 2 years) until they complete their degree. This way if a student athlete exhausts their eligibility with 30 hours to graduate, the school will pay their tuition until they complete their degree.

Posted by skipper on October 6, 2008 at 7 p.m. (Suggest removal)

John75,

Congratulations on your successful academic/athletic career at ACU. You sound like you were a student who was serious about academics, and although it's a guess, I would assume you graduated and took advantage of ACU's commitment to assist student-athletes who exhaust their eligiblity with a scholarship to finish their degree.

Unfortunately, ACU began admitting junior college transfer students a couple of years ago who made "D's" in junior college. This was a change in policy that had not existed in prior athletic and university administrations. Anyone knows that if a student can only make a "D" in classes taken in junior college, the probability of passing courses at a rigorous academic institution like ACU are "nil" at best.

Winning is now more important than anything else!