Even Tressell kind-of, sort-of helps
This is from Bucknuts, which is usually pay site, but this content appears to be free b/c you can get to it from Google. Also, sorry if the link doesn't work quite right: http://bucknuts.com/index.php/Football-Article/tressel-talks-navy-gives…
In the Sunday edition of the Detroit Free Press, allegations surfaced about Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez requiring an amount of practice time that surpassed NCAA regulations. Tressel was asked about the subject and gave his thoughts on the issue of players practicing too much.
"I think all of us, whether it's an Ohio State or all the rest, have certain formats that we follow," Tressel said. "I think the difficult thing in discussions like this is kids want to be good, and there are times when I lock the doors to get them the heck out of here. Then there's perhaps someone that's not quite as interested in being good and feels as if they (don't) need to be there and gets a little bit concerned about how much time is spent. But my experience with kids is that they're really passionate. They want to be as good as they can. They love the game; it's their favorite subject, if you will. They love training. They love coming to your facility and getting in the cold tub to take care of their bodies. They love to come in and watch each other on film and all those kinds of things.
"So I think it's a very difficult discussion, but we and Michigan and everyone else, we have formats that we fill out as to when we have required things for the players to do and so forth, but quite honestly, most of the players want and do more than you prescribe."
One of the specific allegations towards the Michigan program was an inordinate amount of time spent practicing on Sundays. Tressel was asked about Ohio State's Sunday schedule.
"Ours is a little bit different in that we're in the quarter system, so we're not in school for the first three games, Tressel said. "So our Sunday really for the first three games simply would be a training room call because we think it's really important that you catch any injuries and so forth. Our kids may do a little recovery work where they jump in tubs or whatever, and then really Sunday's their day off. They don't have football meetings and football practice and all that stuff.
"Then once school begins, we bring our guys in I think around 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday and get the film watched and go to the training room and all that, then Monday's their day off. So ours is a little bit unique because of the quarter system."
September 1st, 2009 at 5:45 PM ^
about all his men's bodies getting in the tubs...
Don't forget to stretch those creamy hamstrings!
September 1st, 2009 at 5:16 PM ^
I never realized the OSU was on the quarter system (just like in elementary school). I wonder how much that helps them. It must make it easier for their players if for the first 3 games they don't have to focus on anything at all except for football. That seems like a nice advantage.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:27 PM ^
This really isn't relevant to the point that during football season being on the quarter system is a nice little advantage, but I think you misconceive what the "quarter system" really is.
Up until last year, I too thought of elementary/middle school when thinking of the quarter system. In actuality, I believe the quarter system is most easily thought of as a trimester system. During the traditional school year, there are only three terms (fall, winter, and spring). The fourth term (thus "quarters," someone was very creative with the naming) is merely a summer term.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:37 PM ^
Thanks for the information. U of M is technically on the quarter system too then since there's Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer terms. The Spring and Summer terms are only about half as long as the Fall and Winter terms.
I wonder if not being in school for the first 3 games is because OSU starts their Fall term later and ends it later (although that would imply that their term would actually go through Christmas/December holidays and into January which is unlikely.
Anyone want to try and help me understand OSU's situation a little bit better. LandonC tried but I'm apparently not a very good student.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:56 PM ^
Both OSU and Northwestern operate on similar systems (as does University of Chicago, I believe), where your typical student has three terms a year not including the summer instead of the two semesters most schools do. Their terms are not 15 weeks long, instead being about 10 weeks, but since they have three terms it's the same net classroom time.
First term starts in mid/late September and runs to Christmas break. Second term starts after the new year and runs to their spring break. Third term starts after spring break.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:02 PM ^
OSU's quarter system works similarly to the one at Northwestern: fall quarter spans end of September to middle of December, winter quarter from 2nd week of January till last week of March, and spring quarter from first week of April till early June.
U of M is not technically on the quarter system. These are two very different setups.
Also, though it helps not having school at the beginning of the season, it also makes for an empty student section at home games (at least at NU). Additionally, the classwork is more intense during fall quarter than it would be under the semester system, as everything is crammed into 10 weeks instead of 15.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:14 PM ^
There is less content. That's why the first year of calculus is calc I, II, II rather than just I and II. There's not the same info crammed into the shorter class period.
Classes really aren't more intense. It should actually favor the student as the final cannot cover as much information.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:00 PM ^
I believe the three main terms are all the same length. I think they start the fall term later so that it ends right before Christmas vacation. The Winter term probably starts shortly after New Years and ends with Spring Break. Then they have Spring term which likely runs into June.
The more traditional system is what Michigan does. Two traditional terms equivalent in length and a couple shorter terms during the summer with a more condensed class schedule.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^
1. Fall (Sep-Dec)
2. Winter (Jan-Apr)
3. Spring-Summer (May-Aug)
Spring-Summer is divided into the Spring half term and the Summer half term.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:16 PM ^
http://www.columbusunderground.com/its-official-osu-is-switching-to-sem…
OSU fans generally do not like this decision because it takes away their advantage early in the season.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:11 PM ^
and I live there and my wife worked there. But it makes sense. It's too expensive to stick with quarters. Particularly when most of the country deals is semesters.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:18 PM ^
EDIT: HermosaBlue beat me to it.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:19 PM ^
When I was there it was straight up semesters.
Actually, I heard there was a little trimming as UM used a 14 week semester with a 1wk finals period while it was supposed to be 15 wks with a 1wk final period. The quarter system is supposed to be 10 weeks plus a week for finals. Both of these systems equal 30 wks of class for a full school year.
And the spring and summer class periods at UM are HALF semesters. Most definitely they are NOT quarters. Or at least they were when I took a class there about 13? years ago in the spring so I could graduate. It was two 8?wk half semesters, so the class time was doubled.
I'm in Cinci now and they are also on the 'quarters' system, which as noted, is actually trimesters (if you count only the normal school year). And again, it's a little more than 2 months per quarter with 3 quarters in the normal school year with a summer quarter that is not typically attended.
This all goes back to the 70's when the entire country was on semesters and there was a gradual change to quarters. Then institutions decided it was too expensive to stick with quarters because of the increased administration costs and a change back to semesters happened. In my understanding, Ohio is just about the only state where colleges and universities are typically quarters (trimesters, whatever)
September 1st, 2009 at 5:36 PM ^
that's definitely on the side of helping
ty tressel?
September 1st, 2009 at 6:06 PM ^
The currency of the net is website hits. In the future don't cut and paste the entire article. a small teaser/highlight is acceptable.
Nice find, though.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:11 PM ^
Quick note and not to ding the defense by coaches like Tressel and Brewster, but you know you're going to need to answer the question and you know that it's going to relate to your program. So you want to make sure a). not to revel in someone else's misfortune, even a rival's, especially when it's still just in the allegations phase. and b). you want to make sure that you do not give any journalists in your home market an idea of running an investigation and driving up their paper sales and click throughs, so you make sure you're very clear about what you do and how it is in compliance. No smoke, no fire.
Plus, I think it's important to remember that while some of these coaches may be rivals, many of them are, if not friends, at least friendly with one another. They run in the same smallish circle, and they have common interests and want to talk to people who understand and share where they are coming from. You're not going to dance on another coach's "grave", especially when said grave may actually be a rumor that the coach was looking at burial plots for someone in his family. You're going to be respectful, perhaps even defending the coach a little bit, because you know darn well that this could be you if the ball bounced the other way.
That said, I still appreciate all of the comments from people in a position to know and understand which have gone towards tamping down this "story" into something less than a nuclear tornado.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:22 PM ^
Tressel could have found a way to subtly undercut us, but he didn't. It pains me to say this (really, really pains me), but maybe he has a glimmer of class in there somewhere after all.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:52 PM ^
M and Rod are just the canary in the coal mine for the assault by the MSM on college football. First they came for the rednecks from west virginia, but I was not a redneck from west virginia so I did nothing.
While I would expect an assclown like Dantonia to be giggling over this (hell he was probably behind it), most coaches, Tressel included realize that their players also spend more than the NCAA alotted time and they are the next targets.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:22 PM ^
I'll give him this, he is not one to give the opponent ammunition, and he has been even more gracious for the team 'up north' from what I've seen/read.
I knew he wouldn't stab at us, he's just not like that.