'Creative tension' exists at U.Va.
Coaches recruit, but Blackburn has the final say on who will play
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jul 28, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- An athlete who signs a letter of intent to attend the University of Virginia is not guaranteed admission. The final decision rests with U.Va.'s dean of admissions, Jack Blackburn.

"It's not fair, I think, to bring in a student if I think his chances of earning a degree from this place are not good," Blackburn said yesterday.

That explains in part the incredible shrinking act of the 24-member recruiting class that U.Va. football coach Al Groh signed in February. Eight players failed to gain admittance to U.Va. for 2006-07. Some of the eight likely would have gotten in had they done better academically in their final semesters of high school.

Groh, a U.Va alumnus, told reporters Monday that he had expected to lose a significant portion of the class. To many who follow the Wahoos, however, the level of attrition was alarming.

"I certainly support the program and don't want to give the impression I don't, but I hope that it's just an aberration this year," said former U.Va. football player Buddy Omohundro, a Clover Hill High graduate who is now head of the legal department at Apex Systems Inc. in Glen Allen.

It's unclear how many of the recruits in question failed to meet the NCAA's initial-eligibility requirements, which are based on a sliding scale that uses standardized-test scores and grade-point average. U.Va. doesn't admit "non-qualifiers" -- athletes who don't meet the NCAA's minimum standards. Athletes who meet those requirements, though, are not automatically admitted to U.Va.

Several members of the class are headed to prep school and plan to re-apply to U.Va. for 2007-08. Recent examples of football players who have earned degrees at U.Va. after spending an academic year at prep school include Merrill Robertson, Marques Hagans, Almondo Curry and Jamaine Winborne.

In a phone interview, Blackburn declined to discuss specific recruits or give an opinion on Groh's 2006 recruiting class. But the dean spoke at length about his working relationships with U.Va.'s coaches and his department's role in the recruiting process.

"There's always a creative tension, which is what I call it, between applicants and admissions; between coaches and admissions," Blackburn said. "I have a job to do, and they have a job to do, too. They want to have the strongest teams they can, and I want to make sure [their athletes are] successful" in school.

In the NCAA's most recent report on graduation rates, Virginia ranked fourth among ACC football teams, behind Duke, Wake Forest and Boston College.

Blackburn said U.Va. doesn't have a strict formula for determining which athletes are admitted and which are not. Decisions are based on more than SATs and GPAs.

"I look at applications -- our whole committee does -- in a holistic, comprehensive way," Blackburn said.

U.Va. tied for 23rd in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of the nation's universities. A record 88 percent of U.Va.'s incoming freshmen ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating classes. And so Blackburn stresses to the university's head coaches each September the importance of recruiting capable students.

"If you bring in a team where half the students are ineligible every other semester," Blackburn said, "[coaches] burn up their energy trying to keep the athlete playing. That's counterproductive."

Blackburn said he receives a "pre-application" on each prospect who interests a U.Va. coach. The coach includes the prospect's transcript, SAT or ACT scores, senior-year courses and comments about the athlete. The pre-application also states whether the prospect would come to U.Va. on a full scholarship, a partial scholarship or as a walk-on.

"I'll approve many of them. I'll disapprove some of them, and I'll say maybe on others," Blackburn said of the pre-applications.

Coincidentally or not, the recruiting class Groh is putting together for 2007 is stronger academically overall than the 2006 class.

Houston Wood, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at U.Va., was chairman of the university's faculty senate for the 2005-06 academic year. In that position, Wood said, he served on the athletic advisory committee and worked closely with Athletic Director Craig Littlepage.

Wood said he met in March with Groh, who wanted to find ways for his players to interact more closely with faculty members.

Of the attrition in Groh's 2006 recruiting class, Wood said, "I think this may be a one-year thing, and as a faculty member I'm not concerned. I'm disappointed, but not concerned that this is going to be a trend."
 

U.Va. official scolds its coaches
dslater@dailypress.com 247-4641
July 27, 2006

Every September, a parade of University of Virginia coaches goes through Jack Blackburn's office, meeting one by one with Blackburn, the school's dean of admissions.

Blackburn's message to the coaches about potential recruits always is the same.

"My comment to them is that the (recruits) have to be reasonably well-prepared," Blackburn said Wednesday. "My encouragement to them is to find the best students they can. But it's a balance. ... It's a waste of a coach's time to be bringing in a student if he or she thinks a student is going to be ineligible every other semester. That's not the way to build a program."

Pointed words from a powerful man.

After all, Blackburn decides whether athletes - and all students, for that matter - can attend Virginia. In February, he denied admission to eight of the 24 football players who were scheduled to be part of this fall's incoming group of freshmen.

Blackburn wouldn't comment specifically on any of the recruits. And he wouldn't say whether he was disappointed that one-third of the Class of 2006 didn't make the cut.

But he did say that this fall's incoming class of all Virginia students is the strongest he's seen since he started working at the school in 1979 under John Casteen, then the dean of admissions, now Virginia's president. Blackburn has been the dean of admissions since 1985.

"For the overall student body, (admission) is more competitive," he said. "But yet for our student-athletes, we haven't changed much over the years with our level of selectivity."

At Virginia, as with many colleges, most recruited athletes' academic profiles are weaker than those of regular potential students.

Virginia's overall graduation rate is 92 percent. According to the NCAA's most recent graduation-rates report, Virginia's four-class average for all athletes is 80 percent. Virginia football's average is 71 percent, fourth among Atlantic Coast Conference schools behind Duke, Wake Forest and Boston College.

The NCAA formula allows six years to graduate. The overall four-class average in Division I-A football is 55 percent.

Each year, the American Football Coaches Association recognizes I-A programs that graduate 70 percent or more of their scholarship freshmen within five years. Virginia was cited 20 consecutive times, 1984-2003, and again in 2006.

None of the 22 football recruits who signed national letters of intent in 2005 were denied admission. Of the eight who were denied this year, three won't attend Virginia. Linebacker George Johnson is heading to Rutgers, defensive lineman Gavin Smith likely will play at North Carolina State and quarterback O.C. Wardlow likely will play at North Carolina Central, a Division II school that next year will jump to Division I-AA.

The other recruits - defensive lineman Asa Chapman, offensive lineman Billy Cuffee, linebacker Almondo Sewell, wide receiver/defensive back Ras-I Dowling and defensive back DeAndre Filer - will have to attend prep school this year and improve their academic credentials if they want to enroll at Virginia in fall 2007.

Blackburn said coaches give him a list of prospective recruits and their academic credentials in the winter. Blackburn said Virginia football coach Al Groh submits 50 to 70 of these "pre-applications."

"We give a response - up, down or maybe - depending on their credentials," Blackburn said.

He said coaches can appeal his responses through the athletic department. But how often does Blackburn's office change its mind? "Not very often," Blackburn said.

Just because a recruit meets the NCAA's minimum eligibility standards - a sliding scale of standardized test scores and grade-point average - doesn't mean he can get into Virginia. That's why athletes such as Johnson can go to Rutgers and play immediately. "We would never say that the NCAA guideline is ours," Blackburn said. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be any need for an admissions office here."

So Groh was aware during the winter that some of his recruits hadn't made the cut. "I wouldn't say (the recruiting class) took a hit," he said Monday at ACC media days in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. "I would say it followed plan." Groh said there's a "very specifically designed profile" for players who will fit at Virginia.

During September meetings with Blackburn, Groh and other coaches review Virginia's overall academic profile for all incoming students. "My point is always that there are (regular students) next to (the recruited athletes) in classes, and the recruited athletes have to be competitive," Blackburn said. "It's a matter of being fair to the (regular) students, too. Is it fair to bring in a (recruited athlete) if we think he or she can't do the work?"

Groh, entering his sixth season as Virginia's head coach, knows Virginia's profile well. He graduated Virginia in 1967. His son Mike, Virginia's offensive coordinator, played football for the Cavaliers. His son Matthew is in Virginia's law school.

When asked Monday if he thought Virginia's academic standards were too high, Groh said, "No. We've had good teams at Virginia for quite a long time now."

Blackburn dismissed the notion that he'd be more willing to help Virginia teams that have high graduation rates and reputations for recruiting athletes who qualify academically.

"I operate the same way with all coaches," he said. "I'm not involved in being more supportive of one than another. I can't do that. We've got to be fair and consistent with the individual coaches or programs."

Staff writer David Teel contributed to this story.

ACC teams dining on cupcakes
David Teel
July 26 2006

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. -- Last season Virginia Tech and Florida State shared the honor of competing in the ACC's first football championship game. This season the Hokies and Seminoles share the dishonor of crafting the conference's worst non-league schedules.

And that's saying something, for when it comes to playing weak outside opponents, the ACC in 2006 has few, if any, peers.

"A mixed bag," said commissioner John Swofford, who must be looking for charitable tax deductions.

As the conference concluded its annual preseason media gathering Tuesday, Swofford touted the ACC as a nouveau football force. But truth be told, the conference's fans get shafted this season.

Swofford blamed the NCAA's late decision to allow a 12th regular-season game this year, which he said left schools scrambling for opponents. Or, as Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said, "Sometimes you have to take what you can get."

Thankfully, future schedules - more on those later - are more appealing. But they won't gussy up the pig that is 2006.

Virginia Tech and Florida State scheduled all four of their non-conference games at home. Clemson's lone outside test away from home is on "neutral" ground in nearby Charlotte, N.C., against Temple (0-11 last year).

Maryland has arguably the most daunting non-league assignment, at West Virginia on a Thursday night. But the Terrapins also play Middle Tennessee, Florida International and Division I-AA William and Mary, all at home.

Duke and Wake Forest, bless their crazy hearts, scheduled over their heads. The Blue Devils, 1-10 last season, travel to Alabama, while the Deacons, 4-7 last year, head to Connecticut and Mississippi. In fact, Wake Forest and Virginia (at Pittsburgh and East Carolina) are the only ACC teams playing two non-league road games.

"I'm envious of some other non-conference schedules," Deacons coach Jim Grobe said with a wide grin.

Hard to blame him. While the ACC's bottom-feeders scheduled reasonably, the elite did not.

Among Virginia Tech's quartet of Southern Mississippi, Kent State, Cincinnati and Division I-AA Northeastern, only the former is credible. Florida State has its annual clash with Florida, but Troy, Rice and Western Michigan won't make the Seminoles' season-ticket holders happy. Miami travels to Louisville but saddles its home fans with Florida A&M, Houston and Florida International.

One non-conference road game combined for the ACC's three premier programs? That doesn't strike me as the way to convince us skeptics that ACC football is on a par with the Southeastern Conference, Pacific 10, Big Ten or Big 12. Or on a par with ACC basketball or baseball.

The only conference more unwilling to hit the road this season is the SEC. Five of its teams - Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia - do not play a non-conference game on an opponent's home field.

But no one doubts the SEC's football chops. Conversely, ACC teams are 1-7 in Bowl Championship Series games, far and away the worst record among the six contracted conferences. Why, the much-maligned Big East is a respectable 4-4, including West Virginia's Sugar Bowl victory last season against Georgia - in Atlanta.

Moreover, no ACC team has finished among the Associated Press' final top five since Florida State in 2000. And the last ACC team other than Florida State to crack the final top five was co-national champion Georgia Tech in 1990.

One sure way to change the ACC's image is to schedule, and beat, more prominent non-conference opponents. Opportunities begin next season when three ACC teams - Georgia Tech, Boston College and Duke - play at Notre Dame. Also, Miami hosts Texas A&M and travels to Oklahoma; Virginia Tech heads to Louisiana State; and Florida State plays Alabama in Jacksonville, Fla., and travels to Colorado and Florida.

Other upcoming series include Miami-Florida, North Carolina-Colorado, Virginia Tech-Nebraska and Miami-Ohio State.

"You do have to be careful that you don't overload your non-conference schedule," Wake's Grobe said. "If you do, you're not being fair to your kids. ... The kids would play the Green Bay Packers if you'd let them."

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden would prefer the Green Bay Pop Warner league. His Tigers play an annual non-conference game against state rival South Carolina, and that's enough indigestion for him.

Bowden's ideal non-conference schedule?

"Easy," he said. "Because of the strength of the conference, there's no reason to beat yourself up. You can schedule yourself out of a national championship. I want my other three games to be where I can play some young guys, mess up and still win."

Fans can only hope Bowden's attitude does not prevail.