Harbaugh's emphasis on academics
Fall Academic All-B1G selections were announced yesterday.
In total Michigan Athletics had 118 athletes selected among 7 Fall sports programs. In order to be Academic All-B1G team you have to at least be in your second year at your school and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Michigan Football had 37 of those 118.
- Matt Brown (RB) - Economics
- Jared Char (RB) - School of Business
- Camaron Cheeseman (LS) - Biology, Health & Society
- Tyler Cochran (DB) - School of Business
- Jared Davis (DB) - Economics
- Dane Drobocky (DL) - American Culture
- Adam Fakih (LB) - School of Business
- Joseph Files (TE) - Biology and Spanish
- Joey George (DL) - School of Business
- Jordan Glasgow (LB) - Real Estate Development
- Louis Grodman (DB) - Movement Science
- Tyler Grosz (WR) - Economics and Sport Management
- Will Hart (P) - Political Science
- Ryan Hayes (OT) - LSA Undeclared
- Aidan Hutchinson (DE) - Movement Science and Political Science
- Carlo Kemp (DT) - American Culture
- Jonathan Lampani (LB) - School of Business
- Jake Martin (WR) - Industrial Operations Engineering
- Ben Mason (FB) - School of Business
- Dylan McCaffrey (QB) - Psychology
- Jake McCurry (WR) - School of Business
- Jake Moody (K) - General Studies
- Carl Myers (DL) - Sport Management
- Ryan Nelson (LB) - School of Business
- Phillip Paea (DT) - General Studies
- Kwity Paye (DE) - African American Studies
- Geoffrey Reeves (LB) - Neuroscience
- Lawrence Reeves (LB) - School of Business
- Nate Schoenle (WR) - School of Business
- Alan Selzer (K) - Sport Management
- Carter Selzer (TE) - Movement Science
- Adam Shibley (LB) - Communication and Media
- Stephen Spanellis (OT) - Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Matt Torey (WR) - School of Business
- Andrew Vastardis (C) - Movement Science
- Buck West (WR) - Real Estate Development
- Brendan White (WR) - Mechanical Engineering
Academic All-B1G selections by era:
- Harbaugh (2015-present): 174(!!!!!!)
- Hoke (2011-14): 50
- Rodriguez (2008-10): 27
- Carr (1995-07): 120
- Moeller (1990-94): 24
- Schembechler (1969-89): 54
- Elliott (1959-68): 14
- Oosterbaan (1948-58): 4^
^Michigan's first Academic All-B1G was Dick Balzhiser in 1953.
That's right. 174 Academic All-B1Gs since 2015.
2015: 19 (previous program record)
2016: 23 (previous program record)
2017: 48 (program record)
2018: 47
2019: 37
Source: Michigan SuperGuide
Built with Big Ten Conference football record book.
December 12th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
I wish my name was Buck West
December 12th, 2019 at 6:07 PM ^
i wish your name was dick balzhiser
December 12th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
In 2000 and after the election fiasco, my TDY nickname (Air Force deployments) was Chad Dangler.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:18 AM ^
But I thought you were known simply as, "The Stig"
December 13th, 2019 at 9:31 AM ^
He reinvented himself as "The Stig". It works just fine.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
Would Tristan Thompson ride you?
December 13th, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
He could try but I'm not that easy.
December 13th, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
abra ca dabra, you're Buck West!
December 12th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
Make a B1G Football bar chart in Excel with school logos and see how they compare.
December 12th, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
Unfortunately, this stat is meaningless to 99% of people, college football fans, and recruits. Wish it wasn't. Wish people cared about this stuff. Wish people cared about preparing young men to be successful in the world after football. For what is really going to allow them to be successful.
But no one does, unless you are the school with the majority of the kids on the list. Then you make some statement about how it really matters and how important it is so you can feel better about not winning.
December 12th, 2019 at 8:12 PM ^
It matters to the extent that these kids will have something to fall back on should their pro sport dreams not pan out.
Yeah, I like winning football and basketball games, too. And I like seeing our boys at the next level. But there really is more to life than the college sports games.
December 12th, 2019 at 8:15 PM ^
Or you can just choose to be happy and proud about this singular good thing, and not let a completely different negative thing affect how you feel about it.
I am sure Ohio State fans don't let the negative things about their school and football program weigh down the positives of it, so why should we?
December 12th, 2019 at 8:26 PM ^
I'm saying we should celebrate. It is worthy of applause. It is just a shame that not a single person outside of Michigan football is gonna care about this. I think that is a shame.
Furthermore, if the majority of your students are taking online classes, how is it that half of these kids aren't OSU athletes.
December 13th, 2019 at 2:15 AM ^
How do you know 'not a single person outside of Michigan football is gonna care about this'?
Believe it or not there are still talented football players and their families that in fact DO care about academics.
Hence, UM losing out on talented kids to Stanford. It is a major selling point for Stanford and UM for some kids that are both talented and academically gifted. Interestingly, Harbaugh was/is a major part of both programs.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:08 AM ^
LOL, that statement wasn't meant to be taken literally. I'm sure there are people that care about academics. I'm sure there are recruits and fans that find this important. I am simply stating that the overwhelming majority of fans and recruits simply want to go to a quality University, and most importantly, one that wins football games.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
Luckily we get the best of both worlds. This and a winning record.
I wonder how much this is emphasized on the recruiting trail, or how much it matters to a recruit. "Come to Michigan. We'll get you a degree and you get to have the largest alumni base as a network. Make the NFL? Great! You have something to do when you're done. Don't make the NFL? Great! You can get an interview more easily than most other graduates.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:43 AM ^
Said this million times before. No one cares what these guys do off the field as long as don't embarrass university.
In the end we only care about them as athletes which to me is fine as I have other people, team etc that I root for in the classroom (friends, family etc)
December 12th, 2019 at 5:37 PM ^
Love Ben Mason is in the Business School. How great would it be to be in a B-school class with him?
December 12th, 2019 at 5:51 PM ^
It’s almost a given that I would dare him to clean & jerk the professor.
Of course, I would have a helmet on.
December 12th, 2019 at 5:53 PM ^
I mean I’m no expert but shouldn’t he clean him AFTER he jerks him ... it’s the polite thing to do, no?
NTTAWWT!
December 12th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^
How does this stack up against the schools we make fun of for poor academics?
December 12th, 2019 at 5:49 PM ^
I’d guess Michigan is significantly higher than “those programs” considering in 5 years under Harbaugh Michigan has nearly 50% more AAB10’s than Michigan did in 12 years under Carr — he’s blowing Michigan’s own standards out of the water!
December 12th, 2019 at 6:23 PM ^
Why would you guess that? If anything, Michigan might have fewer because they’re expected to take real classes (unlike OSU) and actually get busted when they cheat.
December 12th, 2019 at 7:44 PM ^
Not bad for someone who was unhappy with his M major...
December 12th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
Not sure, but most comparisons won't exactly be apples-to-apples. Getting above a 3.0 at UM is a bit more difficult than the schools we make fun of.
December 12th, 2019 at 5:57 PM ^
Oh sure, that's absolutely what you want the next step in the face-saving process to be. But Ohio State had one more than did Michigan in football: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2019/12/110319/pete-werner-jonah-jackson-jordan-fuller-among-ohio-states-38-academic-all-big-ten-honorees. Also, online classes? That probably should be in the toolbox, too.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:08 PM ^
Username does not check out.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:23 PM ^
Let me explain it a little more directly. In a system where students are graded on a curve, it's harder to score above the mean when all of the kids with whom you compete are all pretty smart and competitive. OSU players are competing in the classroom against OSU students. UM players are competing in the classroom against UM students. That bar is not at the same height.
And before you somehow try to call bullshit on something as objective as that, I had a semester at OSU during undergrad (parents both retired from OSU hospital). Good school, but NOT the same competitive climate as UM.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:33 PM ^
No, it doesn't change the outcome of The Game, just like winning football games doesn't increase the mediocre value of an OSU degree.
And the online class issue for Fields should absolutely be in the toolbox. Fields may be a genius, but that doesn't change the fact that he never even ventures into an OSU classroom. He is a rental player that doesn't even pay lip service to being a student athlete. The fact that this doesn't bother Buckeyes says a whole lot more about them than it does about their rivals.
December 12th, 2019 at 7:20 PM ^
This is the problem with Ohio State. They think academic success saves face for football when it's really the other way around. Stay classy, Columbus.
December 13th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
Justin Fields not making the Academic All-B1G list is *chef kisses fingers*
December 12th, 2019 at 6:21 PM ^
A quick Google search led me to this, which says MSU had 119 total, and 25 for football:
As pointed out by others, this award is a measure of excellence relative to their peers at each school, so an increase in representation on the list by Michigan football players is a good thing regardless of what other schools are doing.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:25 PM ^
Did Joe Bachie make the list as a chemistry and sports science double major?
December 12th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
I did a quick count on the B1G website for football:
I may be off by 1 or 2 since counting off a computer screen is a little annoying.
What I didn't look at is the majors of the players and/or the playing time they actually got. It's not standardized how difficult it is to get a 3.0 at the different institutions.
December 12th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
I recognize less than half of those names. How many walk-ons does the team have? Is there a limit or can you have as many in practice as you want?
The ballooning of academic all-B1G has to be the result of expanding the walk-on program or more awards being given out overall/lower standards from the conference because you don't just triple in two years while maintaining the same recruiting standards, right?
December 12th, 2019 at 7:44 PM ^
Believe they started allowing walk-ons to count for academic All-B1G.
A good move imo but it juices the numbers a bit.
December 13th, 2019 at 2:22 AM ^
You can have as many walk ons as you want. But you can only invite 110 kids to Summer Camp, and 110 to Fall camp, and then you have travel roster restrictions as well. Too many walk ons just wastes time and resources, so a lot of bigger schools are smart about it.
December 12th, 2019 at 5:59 PM ^
Our walk ons are generally great students because theyre treated more like the general student body when applying
December 12th, 2019 at 6:18 PM ^
December 12th, 2019 at 6:27 PM ^
In that case, we’d get beaten by Harvard every year on thanksgiving weekend and then lose a bowl to Yale.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
Ummm ok
December 12th, 2019 at 6:40 PM ^
First this .....and just now I heard we are favored to beat Ohio St. in the next debate.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:47 PM ^
Would be interesting to cross reference thse stats with a list of scholarship athletes. I count maybe 12 from the current list that are on scholarship.
December 12th, 2019 at 7:28 PM ^
Guy did it for us below. 14 on scholarship and several of those started as walk-ons and earned the scholarship.
December 12th, 2019 at 6:54 PM ^
That's insanely good.
December 12th, 2019 at 7:18 PM ^
Its even more impressive when you focus on just scholarship/players in the two deep:
- Camaron Cheeseman (LS) - Biology, Health & Society
- Jordan Glasgow (LB) - Real Estate Development
- Will Hart (P) - Political Science
- Ryan Hayes (OT) - LSA Undeclared
- Aidan Hutchinson (DE) - Movement Science and Political Science
- Carlo Kemp (DT) - American Culture
- Ben Mason (FB) - School of Business
- Dylan McCaffrey (QB) - Psychology
- Jake Moody (K) - General Studies
- Phillip Paea (DT) - General Studies
- Kwity Paye (DE) - African American Studies
- Nate Schoenle (WR) - School of Business
- Stephen Spanellis (OT) - Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Andrew Vastardis (C) - Movement Science
December 12th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
But it's less impressive when you look at their majors.
December 12th, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
The idealist in me thinks a M degree in general studies is still an accomplishment.
But if the students are taking Geology 101, "rocks for jocks", and the school is passing that off as academic rigor then yeah, disappointing.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:47 AM ^
Seriously who cares....has zero effect on you,me or our lives