Basketball coach Ernie Kent extended his efforts off the court to produce an academically successful basketball team. Despite his strong tie to past team success, and his ability to mold successful young men, Kent is receiving the pink slip.
Last year the basketball team ended 8-23, and Kent was told to improve to better than .500 or he was out. His team so far this year is 16-16 and tied for eighth in wins in the Pacific-10. Though not a source of amazement, it is still an improvement by anyone’s standards, considering he’s undergoing a rebuilding phase with a young team.
The team hasn’t been that hot in the Pac-10 standings under Kent’s leadership the last four years, either, but they have done well — extremely well — in the past. Kent has a record of 234-172 (fourth-best winning percentage in the Pac-10) and has led his team to five NCAA tournaments, half of the team’s tournament attendance since 1945. He brought home the first NCAA tournament win in 40 years and went to the Elite Eight twice. All in 13 seasons.
Kent is clearly not a loser but one of the most successful men’s basketball coaches to grace McArthur Court, and yet his greatest achievement is found off the court. The basketball team, according to the NCAA, has a non-federal graduation rate above the national average (73 percent compared to 64 percent) and the second-highest rate in the Pac-10.
Compare that to the football team, which has a non-federal graduation rate well below the national average (49 percent compared to 67 percent) and the second-lowest rate in the Pac-10 conference but came in first in wins in the Pac-10.
Kent retains good students who have managed graduation success rates 9 percent higher than the national average and 23 percent higher than the football team’s. There is a dichotomy here: The football team performs less impressively in academics but is a big winner, and the basketball team is almost the exact opposite. In keeping with this dichotomy, head football coach Chip Kelly’s job is secure, and Kent must now say goodbye to his alma mater.
What people care about with the sports teams at the University is singular: winning. Academics are an afterthought.
It’s sad, indeed, that it’s all about the winning and the potential money each win brings to the school. Students’ academic performance gets pushed by the wayside as the athletic department considers a win/loss ratio — based on recent seasons for the coach — and not how many of their players actually graduate.
Let’s hope the next coach maintains the same standards of academic excellence while still pushing his team to do well on the court. It’s a tenuous balance, but coaches who are able to maintain it should be lauded, not fired just because of a few bad seasons.
Firing Kent, considering his long-standing history of wins, is a mistake. The athletic department not taking into account the good he’s done for his team academically is short-sighted and doesn’t illustrate any thought to the futures of student-athletes.
People should keep one thing in mind: academic performance. Students are here to learn. Kent has been good for his players’ educations, and that’s what really matters.
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Players’ education first
Daily Emerald
March 11, 2010
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