As football players, Gary Russell and Danny Upchurch had little in common. Upchurch was a lesser known Gophers punt and kickoff-return specialist in 2002. Russell ran for 18 touchdowns last season, setting a University of Minnesota record.
But as students they shared the same troubles: Both were admitted despite low scores on college entrance exams. Both struggled in the classroom. And both left campus before graduating.
Their academic problems help illustrate why the university has one of the worst records of retaining and graduating athletes in the Big Ten. Even as the U is striving to raise its academic profile, which is making admission more difficult for many students, it has not held athletes to the same standards, a Star Tribune study shows.
The U provides athletic scholarships to more students with very low college entrance test scores than most schools in the Big Ten, records show.
Since 2001, in seven key sports, the U has admitted more scholarship athletes who scored 17 or below on the national ACT exam than any of seven Big Ten schools that responded to Freedom of Information requests from the Star Tribune.
The average university-wide ACT score for enrolled students last year was 25.1, out of a maximum score of 36. University officials acknowledge that students who score 17 or below will generally require remedial instruction once on campus.
The most glaring numbers belong to the university's football program, which in five recruiting seasons gave scholarships to 16 players with ACT scores of 15 or below. That's more than Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois combined.
The numbers appear to refute a chronic complaint from boosters that poor records on the field are the result of tougher academic standards at Minnesota than at other Big Ten schools.
University Vice Provost Craig Swan, who oversees admissions and academic counseling, said that, on the contrary, the university needs to change its approach to recruiting and retaining athletes.
"I'm not going to apologize for anything that was done in the past," he said. "That's not where we need to be in the future. That's all I'll say."
Low graduation rates
Minnesota's approach to recruiting and retaining athletes is hurting the school in several ways.
When the NCAA released its most recent graduation rate report last week, Minnesota was last in the Big Ten in seven sports, including football, men's and women's basketball and men's hockey.
Also, a new NCAA rule could soon hamper the ability of Gophers teams to compete on the field.
Earlier this year, University Athletic Director Joel Maturi told the school's regents that the NCAA likely will strip Minnesota of some scholarships in football and men's basketball next year for failing to meet new minimum requirements for academic progress.
In Coach Glen Mason's football program, about one-third of the scholarship athletes signed since 2001 scored 17 or lower on the ACT. The numbers also show that from 2001 through 2005, the U was not effectively serving marginal students it gave football scholarships.
Of the 21 players signing football scholarships for the 2003 season, only nine remain on the roster. Two of the 21 were star running back Laurence Maroney, who left school for the NFL, and Brandon Owens, who suffered a career-ending injury. Of the 2004 freshman class of 20, 11 remain.
The university would not divulge how many of the departed players did so for academic reasons.
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