What does the graduation rate look like for all students at Iowa? What does the graduation rate look like for all black students at Iowa? ( should look at 5 years of attendance, not 4). Compare football black athletes to all scholarship athletes. Compare ACT’s at Iowa only to schools who have legislative priorities for State residents’ admissions. Compare family income of black athletes to all students, or non-minority students on athletic scholarship. Do longer term follow up studies on whatever measures of success after graduation you may want to use. Explain to me how you define “academics” at Iowa as some kind of measure. Of what?
Have you ever read the criteria for national rankings of US colleges and universities? Stats people would laugh their asses off. Just as an example, “endowments” count heavily. Really? Gold, and others: I would never, never suggest that we should not make Academic success for black athletes, and all black students, a priority, given the data. But do not be foolish about the intervening variables. Gold, there are numerous good points to be made with regard to racially biased behaviors, and you have identified many of them. But honestly I think you need to stop shooting from the hip.