Martin & Brandon In The Michigan Daily
Bill Martin & David Brandon speak at SACUA meeting as covered in The Michigan Daily:
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/brandon-martin-talk-future-athleti…
"In dealing with recruiting, Brandon said it would be important to have inroads in states where many high-quality athletes live.
Martin added the Big Ten is now coping with the issue of changing demographics. He said most of the athletic population now lives and the South and that coaches are forced to recruit in Southern locations to find the best players.
“High schools have opened in the South and high schools have closed in the North,” Martin said.
He said the number of football players in the state of Michigan, for example, is dwindling, which is why it is becoming more common to see players from Texas and other southern states."
...some other highlights:
Student-athlete graduation rates:
Martin... discussed improvements in graduation rates of student-athletes during his [tenure]. He said the graduation rates of both students at large and that of student-athletes have risen since 2000, ...68 percent to 84 percent for student-athletes and 82 percent to 88 percent for other students. One of Martin’s goals... was to close the gap between the graduation rates of student-athletes and the greater student body, he said. And, while statistics for 2009 have yet to be determined, Martin said he believes the numbers will be right on track. “My goal was to always have graduation rates of the student-athletes the same as the students at large,” Martin said.Student-athlete academic management:
Martin said all freshman scholarship enrollees on the women’s and men’s basketball teams, as well as freshman members of the football team, will be required to attend the Comprehensive Studies Program’s Summer Bridge Program unless they are “academically off the charts,” he said. Martin also discussed a new system in place in which the provost’s office oversees student-athletes’ academic performances. “It used to be that the academic support of athletics had a dotted line to the provost and a solid line to the athletics,” he said. “That’s now switched.” Martin said giving the provost’s office primary responsibility over student-athletes’ academics has been successful. He added that it has allowed for a burden to be lifted from the Athletic Department.University recreation facilities:
Martin answered questions from SACUA members regarding the state of the University’s facilities used for recreational and exercise purposes. “Recreational sport facilities here are nowhere near comparable to other universities,” SACUA member Wayne Stark said. ...[O]versight for the Department Recreational Sports has been transferred from the Athletic Department to the Division of Student Affairs. [Martin] cited the possibility of a student fee as a source of revenue for the buildings, a method that was used to fund some of the current buildings. Martin said the buildings were “historic at best” and “truly do need to be updated,” noting that he hopes they are able to become similar in quality to those at Ohio State University or other colleges where the facilities have been recently updated.Other topics mentioned but not detailed were athletic department finances and Big 10 expansion.
Brandon's comments on recruiting: "In dealing with recruiting, Brandon said it would be important to have inroads in states where many high-quality athletes live."
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