Harvard must have a case of "Stanford Envy”
It must be “Stanford Envy.” How else can you explain Harvard’s foray into the murky realms of “competing at the highest levels” or whatever it is they think they’re now going to do with men’s basketball.
Harvard has never won an Ivy League title in men’s basketball and has not reached the N.C.A.A. tournament since 1946. This season, the team won only 8 of its first 28 games. Like all the universities in the Ivy League, Harvard does not award athletic scholarships.
Yet the group of six recruits expected to join the team next season is rated among the nation’s 25 best. This is partly because Harvard Coach Tommy Amaker, who starred at Duke and coached in the Big East and Big Ten conferences, has set his sights on top-flight recruits. It is also because Harvard is willing to consider players with a lower academic standing than previous staff members said they were allowed to. Harvard has also adopted aggressive recruiting tactics that skirt or, in some cases, may even violate National Collegiate Athletic Association rules.
This is the part I really don’t get . . .
Harvard’s efforts in basketball underscore the increasingly important role that success in high-profile sports plays at even the most elite universities. In the race to become competitive in basketball, Harvard’s new approach could tarnish the university’s sterling reputation.
What am I missing here? If Harvard isn’t the most competitive to enter university in the land, it can’t be far off the pace. The endowment is embarrassingly large. In fact, in a truly weird display of noblese oblige, Harvard is now sort of giving away tuition to middle class people.
So what, pray tell, is going on with this push to win basketball games? So more people will apply? So that alum will give even more money? So that the word “Harvard” will appear even more often in internet searches? If it’s not too much to ask, what was alternative B?
Blogged with Flock
Tags: Harvard, Basketball, Ethics Violations, NCAA violations, Tommy Amaker, Duke Univeristy, Decision Making, Decision Quality, Ethics