Dude, we're doing this too. I'm thinking it's because it's in the realm of academic enrichment. They're using them to replace certain textbooks, etc.
OSU to give ipads to athletes, just like Michigan does!
Doesn't Michigan do this as well? They're on loan; they don't get to keep them. Lots of schools out there give their students iPads. It seems kind of unfair that only the student athletes get them in these cases, but meh.
A small number of small colleges do this for every enrolling student. I think giving an ipad to every enrolling student at a school the size of Michigan or OSU would just simply not be possible.
http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/college-64039-abbey-technology.ht…
One of my friends goes to a school that gives every student an iPad, but it turns out it isn't really a "gift"... They just tack the extra $500 onto the technology fees included with tuition and everybody gets really happy because they think it's free; they don't realize they're being forced to buy the thing.
he donated Ipads to the football team. They had to attach them to their football lockers so as not to provide an extra benefit. I don't know if the has changed or not since then, but it was illegal a couple years ago.
For compliance reasons, the iPads will be mounted into each player's locker. The football staff will have the ability to send messages to the players via their iPads. The players will be able to acknowledge and respond, but their messages will be limited to football and academic personnel only.
www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_
These are on loan, they aren't gifts. They're intended for educational purposes
But I heard that they are providing Segway scooters to players on the premise that they need them to get to class ! ;-)
Florida provides scooters (on loan) to their football players.
Idk if you've ever been on our campus, but I'd take a segway for much needed relief. But in all seriousness, I don't think I agree with athletes getting ipads at any school, seeing as I have a tiny scholarship, and have to work for every privelege I have, but while I was not blessed with any extraordinary athletic ability at birth, the rich just keep getting richer.
but I wouldn't want a loaner iPad that someone touched with their greasy fingers all last year, not to mention the borderline obscene amount of porn for Apple devices.
...we're really starting to wig out, aren't we?
The OSU players won't get anything done that doesn't involve the internet.
Does anybody here know any players on the OSU football team? I was thinking about buying a used one...
Draw a nice tattoo in exchange?
THEY JUST DON"T LEARN DO THEY?!
/s
Seriously this isn't a big deal, at all. Suh donated ipad's to the entire Nebraska football team two years ago.
Study aids? No, I heard from someone very close to the program that they are using them to hone hand-eye coordination.
By playing Fruit Ninja?
No, by playing Stick Wars.
When that Kate Upton GIF first started hitting these boards, I was honing my hand-eye coordination like two or three times a day.
Regardless of whether it's done at Michigan or not, how isn't it an improper benefit to provide to the student-athletes?
Student-athletes get scholarships that non athletes don't get, student-athletes get their own tutors that non athletes don't get and student-athletes get their own study facility's that non athletes don't get. But an ipad is an issue to you?
They're being used to replace a paper playbook. My guess is that they're fairly locked down and athletes won't be able to use the app store or itunes or anything like that.
If Braxton Miller can use the iPad to become more accurate when throwing a foward pass, I might become concerned as a Michigan fan. Otherwise...whatever. I dumped my first generation Ipad when it became clear that it was a better couch-toy than productivity aid.
In a manner that if side effects last 5 hours or more, you should call a doctor.
NTTAWWT!
Is there an app for cheating?
They actually just came out with it. It's called "Vesty 2.0"
I am already jealous of the day when my daughters enroll at college and download all of their textbooks to their ipad. I will have to tell them all about the good old days, lugging 50 lbs of books in my backpack across campus.
And earning $8.15 when you sold them all back at the end of the semester.
Prediction: iPad textbooks will offer bookstores even more opportunity to screw you - they'll still sell them for just as much as before but won't ever have reason to buy them back. That ten cents on the dollar will start to look pretty good.
Did you also have to walk 5 miles to school, uphill both ways?
5 miles one way and 7 the other.......sucked......
.... In the snow..
I don't know why everyone is making this a big deal. The basketball team had iPads in each locker last year, using them to become a paperless team. I'm sure M will be issuing them to the football team in the very near future.
Yes, because this is what it is all about, being a "paperless" team to save 1.74 trees per year... not another "keeping-up-with-the-Jonses-recruiting-tool"....
-Herm
Gene Smith is easily confused. He thought they were eye pads.
If you take the "benefit not available to the student body" too far then you'll forbid teams from handing out playbooks. And there are a LOT of other things not available to the student body that are perfectly legal and within the realm of reason. My football-playing housemate got free milk and other "nutrition" staples from the team supply, most of which went into White Russians for our house.
It's a non-issue. It's not necessarily permanently their's and it comes preloaded with standard student material. On top of that, it's not being give to just football/basketball players but all athletes incoming and one's already there. I just don't see a dang thing newsworthy about this even though it's OSU.
Let us know when a Ohio booster starts handing out iPads with a pretty bow on it to just star players and then we'll have something to talk about.
It's clearly not a violation or anything, but it is kind of a funny illustration of how crazy the rules are. No cream cheese with your bagels, but have an iPad.
I am curious how far you could take this. Could you give an athlete a $6000 Alienware desktop to do homework on, as long as they had to buy their own games and give it back once they left the program?
Lets be honest...a laptop would be more useful for academics. These are going to be used mostly as toys. Sure, you can use laptops frivolously but at least they're also perfectly suited for some heavy duty work processing, can have academic software that comes with many class textbooks installed (chemistry, math, physics, etc etc)...
Anyway, I guess Michigan needs a few million dollars for some iPads now!
On a random sidenote, Doc Saturday is boring now. It's basically become Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood for college football. Gone are the days of any meaningful analysis. Or any analysis at all, I should say. Waiting expectantly for the day Matt Hinton resurfaces.
Not to be snarky because I mostly agree with you, but how much meaningful analysis is there to be done in the offseason?
If you're at all familiar with Hinton's work from his Sunday Morning QB days, then a lot. A small selection of his analytical posts from Jul-Aug of his last offseason before moving to doc saturday are below. If you look through SMQB's archives, you'll find VERY few college football "news" items, like what Doc Saturday has become.
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/8/1/584947/anatomy-of-a-mythical-cham
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/8/1/584545/anatomy-of-an-underdog-08
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/24/578520/what-to-do-with-nebraska-o
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/22/577012/how-the-heels-stole-the-co
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/21/575846/mid-major-monday-bcs-busti
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/14/571480/a-somewhat-obligatory-asse
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/11/569796/a-somewhat-obligatory-asse
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/10/569023/a-somewhat-obligatory-asse
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/9/568033/the-games-virginia-tech-at
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/7/566269/you-don-t-know-you-just-do
http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/7/2/563759/a-reasonably-anticipatory