UNC / Kentucky / Duke / Etc... I am going to let you into the mindset of potential big time football recruits...... THEY WANT the beach..... THEY WANT easy classes..... THEY WANT THIS and those schools are not going to get them there at the rate of the bigtime schools......
Well, size and acedemic requirements are a big part of it. Take Duke... a college of 5000. Less than some of your local community colleges. You're trying to compare them to Alabamas or whatever with a student body larger than my county. Basketball has what.. a dozen players. It's possible to have a few good players that meet the academic standards of a school. Now try to find 60 or so people that play football with those same standards. And those 60 are just what's left. A lot have been cast aside by the time the season comes. IT isn't going to happen. Most football types are going to go for the big school(Duke is not) with the big campus life(Duke is not) and a place they can skate through classes(Duke is not). So the answer to your question is quite transparent when you look at it this way. Duke is an over achiever in basketball... always have been, just like the Gonzagas etc only Duke has done it longer. Oh yeh, the coach has a big say in that. Duke absolutely sucks at football. Everyone knows it and they really don't expect it to change. I love the place and don't expect it to change. BIg Time Football and Big Time Basketball survive in totally different worlds. UNC and Kentucky are big schools.. yet they haven't won the big brass ring in football, but they don't suck like Duke. LOL
Different "markets" for kids looking (hoping) to continue their career in basketball/football after college. In the basketball world the Duke, UNC , UK etc... gives them the best chance of exposure and making it to the next level. In football ..... not so. They want to play on contending teams in big conferences with a chance at a national title. UNC aint going to provide that.
But, why can't UNC (and others) change that? And, David......no matter the size of the school (i.e. enrollment), they still get the same amount of scholarships.
I don't know. Grandfathered in I suppose. It is what it is? How would you even start changing that? Kids would have to start the "change". Which they wouldn't be willing to do unless there was a genius recruiter with a sales pitch. Kind of like in baseball. You give a player an option (with equal contracts), to play for the NY Yankees or the Baltimore Orioles....... who does he pick?
Success breeds success. Remember a time when Nebraska was a national powerhouse? I mean, who the hell wants to play football in Nebraska? The more they won, the more the top players wanted to become part of that mega giant of college football. Once they started losing, the top recruits started dropping off. This is generally how mid-level teams elevate past the 6-5 or 7-4 seasons, and transform themselves into contenders. They HIRE a sexy coach, one who can put the boys in the league. They have 2-3 BIGtime recruits agree to play for said college, thereby opening the flood gates for other top level recruits. They BEAT a bigtime team on a national stage thereby enhancing their recruiting prowess. They CHANGE their deadbeat looking uniforms in something that looks cool/trendy with the athletes they are trying to pursue. They WIN bowl games consistently.
IDK, UNC and UK have both made major strides at improving that. Just a few years back, over halfway through the season ESPN talking heads were talking about UK possibly making the NC til the finally hit the meat of their schedule. UK's problem is their conference....How is a team to ever gain a solid footing in a conference already dominated by the LSUs, Bamas, FLAs, GA, Auburn, etc....by far the best football conference year in and year out with several championship quality teams. I don't see them EVER getting to elite status in the SEC, regardless how many strides they have made under Rich Brooks. UNC has a better shot at it but with the investigation they are under, they may be set back a few more years until they continue to climb. Duke has no shot ever IMO. No slight on them, I partied like a rockstar with the Duke Football team on spring break last year, they just will never be a top tier team.
Academic standards are stricter and eliminate the majority of those kids who are big time players. It's a fact you can't ignore. And the few who could and are good enough go where other great players(but mostly poor scholars) go so they have a chance to content. You play on a team that wins 2 or 3 games max a year isn't going to help your chance to go on in football no matter how good you are. Oh you might make it.... but with a winner your odds increase. There are a lot of really dumb people playing college ball who are great at their sport but would be on acedemic probation for their college career at Duke. Duke uses it scholarships.... but they mostly recruit scholars.
Dukes academic standards aren't higher than Notre Dame and they (used to be) good with a lot of talent.
And how long ago was that greatness. They've been far from great for a long time. Again, great school and tradition with more chances to be good than a small school like Duke will be. AND, acedemic acceptance standards ar Notre Dame are less than Duke. I'm not talking about this "NEW" touchy touchy feel good SAT they've come up with that a lot of schools have opted out of. I'm talking about the old system where you're smart or you're not. Here is a recent example. Notre Dame isn't in the top 100 http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/sat_75pctl_rank.html
http://stanford.scout.com/2/952555.html Duke and ND have the same graduation rates. ND has been around (or at) the top for a lot of years. You can say a lot of things about Notre Dame (especially in recent years) but you CANT argue their academic standards.
No wonder I got my nuts ground into the dirt nearly every class in college....LOL 47College of William and Mary1450
