It's time for high school football recruits to go the HBCU route
- Thread starter Fiyah
- Start date
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
Gotta ask you to explain that part to me....?
Minus fatigue and pressure, you can do very well at any college with guidance and personal discipline. I think we CAN make amenities and facilities better at our colleges by giving and better oversight but what goes a long way is explaining entrepreneurship and helping to secure hands on experience for the younger ones. Give an internship, etc. I've done it with my Bahamian kids even when I was dead broke and my first two are graduating in December with honors in science, secured internships and options. So even with sports, upgrade what you have within reason. If it's small, that's fine. Make it the nicest small thing you have. There's always a way. Those before us had nothing. Thurgood Marshall's high school didn't even have a gym or a real library. My grandfather's segregated high school didn't have enough books when he attended. I know of a few schools in deep East Texas that didn't really have weights in the weight room but they found a way to win. You can get athletes another way...by offering something of substance to go with what they're physically doing.
I think it's been decently documented the academic coddling and over-zealousness in which big-state-U tends to hold hands w/ young adult males as they matriculate through their "general studies" major.
Rated R Superstar
Well-Known Member
#deadhorseemoji
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
I see what you're saying. I still think ultimately, that falls on the student and how that student was maybe raised. If you raise your kid to get his/her head in the books and he/she follows your advice and does what they're supposed to do, they'll be fine at an HBCU or Big State U. Some of these kids that fall into the lull of the hand holding and coddling in my opinion, haven't been raised right. You have some of these kids who's parents are just as bad........raising them to think "you're a big time athlete, you're gonna get paid" and to accept all the hand holding that goes on because mama is gonna get a new Escalade, etc. Not saying I disagree with you but I do think it still ultimately falls on the student/parent situation.
the band fan
Baseball Fan
you realize that football resort is designed to keep you there 24/7. They don't want you doing anything else. Its bad for social development as you don't connect with the university unless your a star, make a bunch of cash and told to spend it back.
Looking at Last Chance U do some of those guys even belong in a classroom? Someone is failing them long before college and their being exploited by getting preferential treatment at the highest levels.
Looking at Last Chance U do some of those guys even belong in a classroom? Someone is failing them long before college and their being exploited by getting preferential treatment at the highest levels.
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
Yep, I sure do. and I agree..........to a point for some. But at every school, there are dudes that just don't belong, no matter what. My point is.......there are ones that might not even be a star at whatever school but if you been raised right and doing what you need to do in class, those guys will be fine. Plenty of non-stars get their degrees and go on to good careers. You can be there 24/7 and still take care of your business in the classroom. We all know all of 'em won't. And just because some are at an HBCU, doesn't mean they're gonna connect. School ain't for everybody no matter where you go. They have a better chance of course at an HBCU.
96lioness
QUEEN LIONESS!!!
Coach Thomas has emphasized this several times in his interviews regarding our transfers & HS recruits.
96lioness
QUEEN LIONESS!!!
Very, VERY good and truthful point! We all know that most of our young black boys/men are mesmerized by those “powerhouse” schools’ athletic facilities more than they are with the overall grand scheme of the college. And it sho ain’t pics of the Architectural & Technology buildings or Business Education facilities they posting on social media.
I have yet to hear these boys here in Arkansas say, “Yeah, so I chose UA because their STEM program is rated #so-and-so in the nation” or “The Razorbacks’ Industrial Technology program was what sealed the deal for me”
+1. Very good response.
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
I agree......for some at least. I have yet to hear boys say that too but I'm sure some of our young black men have been raised to also think of education as well as facilities.........which leads me to this question - who's fault is it that our young boys don't choose a school based on the STEM program, etc as well as facilities?" If you're not teaching your star athlete at home, that his education is his priority then nobody else will, and he/she definitely won't learn that on their own" And the big schools definitely aren't gonna teach 'em. They want that touchdown. It's a parents job to set the foundation in my opinion. That's why I brought up that point to Open Date about how some of the parents are just as giddy about facilities as the kids because they think lil' Junior is going to the NFL and gonna buy 'em a house and new car.
In short, I think it's GOTTA start at home. It's nobody else's fault that kid chooses facilities over education but the parents and how they raised these boys. My son knows..........education is first..........because if he gets injured , he's gotta have something to fall back on. Pick a good major and not basket weaving. Unfortunately, we have parents teaching the opposite......just pick something easy and try not to get hurt so you can get that pay day baby!
I agree......for some at least. I have yet to hear boys say that too but I'm sure some of our young black men have been raised to also think of education as well as facilities.........which leads me to this question - who's fault is it that our young boys don't choose a school based on the STEM program, etc as well as facilities?" If you're not teaching your star athlete at home, that his education is his priority then nobody else will, and he/she definitely won't learn that on their own" And the big schools definitely aren't gonna teach 'em. They want that touchdown. It's a parents job to set the foundation in my opinion. That's why I brought up that point to Open Date about how some of the parents are just as giddy about facilities as the kids because they think lil' Junior is going to the NFL and gonna buy 'em a house and new car.
In short, I think it's GOTTA start at home. It's nobody else's fault that kid chooses facilities over education but the parents and how they raised these boys. My son knows..........education is first..........because if he gets injured , he's gotta have something to fall back on. Pick a good major and not basket weaving. Unfortunately, we have parents teaching the opposite......just pick something easy and try not to get hurt so you can get that pay day baby!
Excellent points. Hence why I think HBCUs, HBCU grads are overall more marvelous w/ our caring and compassionate advisement than big-state-U grads.
In the event of an injury or a desire not to be a student-athlete anymore, I would expect an HBCU grad to tell an undergrad student-athlete "academics FIRST and FOREMOST; the objective is to graduate; athletics always 2nd." I expect big-state-U grad to tell an undergrad student-athlete "next man up. forget about ol' boy or ol' girl."
Rated R Superstar
Well-Known Member
When these kids sign schollies to school (HBCU or PWI), they know why they're there. The priority is the sport. That's what got them there in the first place. The athletes know it. The coaches know it.
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
Yeah, agreed.
It's a part of their priority to be there or does the ncaa still get it wrong w/ apr? lol
96lioness
QUEEN LIONESS!!!
I agree......for some at least. I have yet to hear boys say that too but I'm sure some of our young black men have been raised to also think of education as well as facilities.........which leads me to this question - who's fault is it that our young boys don't choose a school based on the STEM program, etc as well as facilities?" If you're not teaching your star athlete at home, that his education is his priority then nobody else will, and he/she definitely won't learn that on their own" And the big schools definitely aren't gonna teach 'em. They want that touchdown. It's a parents job to set the foundation in my opinion. That's why I brought up that point to Open Date about how some of the parents are just as giddy about facilities as the kids because they think lil' Junior is going to the NFL and gonna buy 'em a house and new car.
In short, I think it's GOTTA start at home. It's nobody else's fault that kid chooses facilities over education but the parents and how they raised these boys. My son knows..........education is first..........because if he gets injured , he's gotta have something to fall back on. Pick a good major and not basket weaving. Unfortunately, we have parents teaching the opposite......just pick something easy and try not to get hurt so you can get that pay day baby!
You done said, "Pick a good major and not basket weaving"! LORD!
But yes, it does start at home, and yes, education is priority. My daddy wasn't given the opportunity to finish school; before he was 12yrs old he had to work with his parents and older brothers in the field chopping cotton, baling hay, stacking wood, bush-hogging, hauling old limbs, trees, trash. My mother, on the other hand, was a math and science teacher (graduated Arkansas AM&N in 1966). Since one parent was denied his education and the other parent worked in education, BOTH of my parents knew and stressed the importance of education to me and my sister. I thank God for their wisdom (to this day) and thank God I had the sense to listen to them and heed their instruction. There's nothing better (to me) in this world than having Jesus, freedom, and having an education!
It's equally wonderful when the parents AND the coaches are in agreement concerning education. I know, I know......coaches want to win. But I do see more of our HBCU coaches (not all) that incorporate skills essential for life on and off the field. Every football coach during my years at UAPB to date (except Archie Cooley), talked of the importance of education. While it was only "talk" with some coaches (our woes with APR were proof), it's more than just talk with our current coach. At his presser back in early 2018, Coach Thomas came in the door saying 2 things that had me sold:
1) Change our team's cultural mindset from one of a willing participant to that of a distinct winner and effectively get our team to fully understand and grasp the psychological aspect of football as well as the physical
2) Create a culture that will result in our team's better sense of pride for the institution and administration, and to put all priorities in the right place so they'll be successful on and off the field; have the team realize that once football is over, their education and athleticism is just as good as those
in SEC, PAC, Big 10, and that if they just do the things they're supposed to do in life outside of football, THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!
Some of our 2018 players weren't on board with this so they quit the team; some were "asked" to leave.
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
Priority is the sport true..........but you can find a program that does car As a parent of a college freshman football player...........it was important to me to t
Very well said.
And then there's the last part that baffles me. "Some of 2018 players weren't on board with this............." That's just sad. Unfortunately so many kids around the country think the same way.
It's a common naive occurrence in today's entitled society.
I believe every so often one can find that throwback type who has great understanding.
Rated R Superstar
Well-Known Member
But what do those two statements the coach mentioned actually entail and how would it be executed?
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
Are you asking specifically about Pine Bluff;s coach or in general?
Rated R Superstar
Well-Known Member
The Pine Bluff coach.
Not true. Some yes. All HBCU grads, hell naw. And the second half is complete BS. Having gone to both HBCU's and PWC's I saw the top athletes being given benefits that regular students didn't get at both. I also saw athletes being passed at both. There have been schools right in this conference with grade scandals. I mean it's nice to think but it's not true.
tigertrail
Well-Known Member
Very good point as well. I guess you gotta just do your research and pray that you and your kid land in a good spot.
There are a number of us who have attended and GRADUATED both HBCU and pwcu and haven't seen what you saw in terms of "entitlement" and "benefits being given" to student-athletes that normal students did not receive. My personal testimony is I never saw that, hence my position on how I personally encouraged, due to my strong allegiance to HBCU undergraduate upbringing, those attending my and others' HBCUs to excel academically.
Not sure what to make of your grade scandal mumbo-jumbo inside the SWAC. The only thing I've read about w/ regards to a few SWAC schools issues w/ grade scandals were overzealous and $$$$ hungry INDIVIDUAL admins involved in malfeasance of their own lustful individual greed, not the direction from the institution itself. A few schools hired a few dishonest folk who were abruptly terminated and/or prosecuted. That's not a reflection on the individual great school(s).