They REALLY don't play school in Columbus
I saw the highlights on ESPN and social media but didn't realize the backstory. It's apparently not even a real school, just a bunch of kids that work out together.
They played a team from Pennsylvania Friday night, then turned around and played IMG last night on national television. And lost 58-0.
No staff, no physical address. Just a charter school/weight room without a charter on file with the Ohio department of education.
August 30th, 2021 at 5:52 PM ^
And yet they were able to dupe ESPN into covering their game. Bravo.
August 30th, 2021 at 5:57 PM ^
Yeah, I actually am kinda impressed by them. They probably had a pretty good idea they could just lie and say they had a bunch of Div I recruits among other falsehoods and ESPN would do zero due diligence on any of it. They were right.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
Yes if only ESPN had an entire area dedicated to college football recruiting that could instantly help them sniff out BS on a school claiming multiple division 1 recruits....
Another giant proof point in why ESPN recruiting rankings are pure garbage
August 30th, 2021 at 10:42 PM ^
You are certainly correct on that but you should not have limited your evaluation to their recruiting rankings.
August 30th, 2021 at 5:57 PM ^
I guess IMG was having a lot of trouble finding non-conference matchups? Are they even in a conference or league of some sort?
If they aren't, I imagine it might be difficult to find 9 or 10 teams every year willing to play them. Might make them not look too hard at their opponents beforehand.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:19 PM ^
I never pass up an opportunity to laugh at the ESPN dorks.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:55 PM ^
Here is a former one and always good to laugh at....
August 30th, 2021 at 9:31 PM ^
Is she even in the sports broadcasting business?
August 30th, 2021 at 10:49 PM ^
I think she found a home in the woke broadcasting biz.
August 31st, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^
Jemele Hill, a Michigan hater from MSU. How she ever got on the air in the first place is a wonder. Then she used her ESPN to advance her political and personal agenda, which often included her openly anti-Michigan bias.
She now writes, mostly opinion pieces, for the Atlantic, where her counter narrative is encouraged.
At least I haven't seen any negative Michigan articles but there's still time.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:19 PM ^
Welcome to late stage capitalism as applied to public education.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:41 PM ^
The public part isn't doing so great either.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:20 PM ^
Holy shit. They played 2 games in 3 days, they have former JUCO players on their team, AND….their coach has an active active arrest warrant.
August 30th, 2021 at 7:44 PM ^
good point
August 30th, 2021 at 10:55 PM ^
It looks very small....
August 31st, 2021 at 8:23 AM ^
is Zach Smith on the coaching staff? sounds like a pretty good fit.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:20 PM ^
All jokes aside, this is dangerous and the "coach" should face serious sanction.
August 30th, 2021 at 10:51 PM ^
Well there is an active arrest warrant out for him.
August 31st, 2021 at 8:54 AM ^
since he was on national tv and traveling with a football team, shouldn't take a detective to hunt him down and serve that warrent.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:36 PM ^
Yeah it's a shame that ESPN gave that platform to what is likely a fake school without much of an academic profile that really seems to just exist for the purpose of trying to get kids into college football and is run by adults with a probable financial interest in that.
But enough about IMG.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:45 PM ^
"Yeah it's a shame that ESPN gave that platform to what is likely a fake school without much of an academic profile"
They cover the SEC. It's what they do.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:45 PM ^
Hey, give them some credit ...they also care about tennis, basketball and soccer.
August 30th, 2021 at 10:13 PM ^
I’d rather not pile on to IMG for being a fake high school. I’m betting that academics are legit there, as they try to broaden the minds of kids, most of whom have not had the benefit of a high school that would prepare them for the opportunities and pitfalls of the next level. Hence the term Prep School.
what I would pile on IMG for is their utter lack of vetting of an opponent. The IMG staff would not have to spend a whole lot of google energy to discover there was nothing there, there. I guess their failure was to trust ESPN to book them a legitimate opponent. Seems weak to me.
August 30th, 2021 at 11:27 PM ^
Given that IMG played BS (I like referring to them by their initials, it fits) in 2020 ------- it's fair to say IMG had a sense for what they were getting into here.
Like you, I'm not one to pile on IMG as regards their academic credentials. One can get a legit high school education there, an education that sets one up for college.
But ---- much like a lot of the basketball academies that exist (La Lumiere down in Northern Indiana, Oak Hill Academy, Findlay Prep in Nevada, et cetera) ---- when it comes to on-the-field/court athletics they simply don't exist within the same "sphere" as the other 99% of American high schools.
August 31st, 2021 at 6:47 AM ^
What am I missing? Was there not film available/provided to IMG or ESPN? How the hell do they not know that this is a bogus program?
August 30th, 2021 at 6:37 PM ^
This reminds me of the amazing /r/cfb expose on two fake junior college college programs. It looks like Bishop Sycamore's "coach" just adopted the model for high school.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
They played IMG in 2020 as well, which certainly legitimized and added some nuance to the grift...
https://youtu.be/q_r02zIEcxQ?t=1409
August 30th, 2021 at 6:46 PM ^
Emoni Bates doesn't see the problem here...
August 30th, 2021 at 6:58 PM ^
....so these kids will all goto Memphis for college football???
August 30th, 2021 at 6:56 PM ^
....nor do they play football that well either. Lol.
August 30th, 2021 at 6:58 PM ^
The Human Fund. Money for people.
August 30th, 2021 at 7:40 PM ^
"Chicago All Saints Hospital...but you can just abbreviate it"
August 30th, 2021 at 6:58 PM ^
That Hoban QB pictured in the article is Shawn Crable’s son.
August 30th, 2021 at 7:15 PM ^
Shawn Crable already has a son nearly ready to play college football...??
August 30th, 2021 at 6:59 PM ^
What the hell. Some heads should roll at ESPN.
August 30th, 2021 at 7:11 PM ^
Bishop Sycamore:
ESPN:
Looks good to me!
August 30th, 2021 at 9:51 PM ^
Easily the best scene from Benchwarmers!
August 31st, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
The kids and I watched that movie the other night. Easily my favorite scene, but the movie was funny, very stupid, but I laughed a lot. Those benchwarmers are great ATH-A-LETES.
August 30th, 2021 at 7:32 PM ^
I believe Coldwater was just like this back in the early 90s in Ohio
August 31st, 2021 at 5:38 PM ^
Not many people will get that reference, but that is A+ material Monkey!
August 30th, 2021 at 7:49 PM ^
It just means more
August 30th, 2021 at 8:11 PM ^
neither one of these places are, you know, “schools,” except insofar as containers for sports. there’s no difference between IMG and emoni bates’ “school.” the pearl-clutching over this is a damned joke. better to ask why high school teams are flying all over the country to play semi-pro football for espn’s cameras.
August 30th, 2021 at 8:34 PM ^
As long as the players aren't getting any money it's fine and not semi-pro.
August 30th, 2021 at 9:41 PM ^
there’s no difference between IMG and emoni bates’ “school.”
Well, other than that one is a boarding school that offers 14 AP courses and elite athletic coaching in multiple sports while the other consists of a few computers in a garage and features the coaching expertise of Bates' dad.
August 31st, 2021 at 6:20 AM ^
i said what i said.
go look at IMG’s home page and see if you can find a single reference to education. just one.
sports with a dollop of “school,” just to make it semi-respectable.
August 31st, 2021 at 9:20 AM ^
go look at IMG’s home page and see if you can find a single reference to education. just one.
The top of the page where it says "academics"?
August 31st, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
As someone that lived 2 miles from IMG, and had multiple coworkers who lived on the complex from out of the country with kids enrolled, you couldn't be more wrong.
August 31st, 2021 at 1:34 PM ^
please note - i am not saying that they're not educating their athletes. but please, let's not pretend that anyone would choose IMG for literally any reason besides sports. period.