re: Interesting article about Kirby Smart

I would argue that academic rankings have typically been independent of athletic department decisions for UGA. The real boost that UGA has had in academics has come as a result of the HOPE grant keeping more quality students in-state for a free ride. Alabama has actually had a big boost academically due to the increased enrollment and applications that I think many might attribute to their football program's popularity. Significant boosts to out of state applications and admits (extra money for the school). The volume of applications alone has allowed them to get more selective on who they admit in from a general student population.

I disagree with the idea that changes that are made to the football program are going to decrease the quality of the university on an academic basis. I'm not recommending we take a bunch of functionally retarded kids who are great athletes, but I don't believe that Bama has been doing this either. They've been using the guidelines that the NCAA has in place to define minimums. At that point, it is on the program to get these kids to perform both on the field *AND* in the classroom.