https://www.wralsportsfan.com/former-unc.../20147747/

Interesting interview with a guy who no longer has to be guarded about what he says about the relationship between academics and athletics. Holden Thorp gets it, even if he didn't get it when he was still UNC Chancellor.

(02-19-2022 10:34 AM)ken d Wrote:  https://www.wralsportsfan.com/former-unc.../20147747/

Interesting interview with a guy who no longer has to be guarded about what he says about the relationship between academics and athletics. Holden Thorp gets it, even if he didn't get it when he was still UNC Chancellor.Former UNC Chancellor

Good find. Interesting to read that president's perspective.

He makes a good point that it's much too easy for boosters and powerful coaches to walk all over professors thrust into university administration.

Recently, it's more likely that a major university president will have many years in administration before being chosen for a big job, but it's still too easy for booster money and a team's popularity to win out over the best interests of the university.

(02-19-2022 10:34 AM)ken d Wrote:  https://www.wralsportsfan.com/former-unc.../20147747/

Interesting interview with a guy who no longer has to be guarded about what he says about the relationship between academics and athletics. Holden Thorp gets it, even if he didn't get it when he was still UNC Chancellor.Former UNC Chancellor

Good article. I like this quote: "Oh, don't worry. We do it the right way. We're not Alabama.' And the people who wanted to win, well, we were winning so they were happy," Thorp said. "And then once it came out that this whole thing was a sham and that we were cutting corners and making compromises the same way everybody else did, that was a big shock to the system." How true that is. Almost every school goes through that epiphany moment with their athletic program.

(02-19-2022 10:34 AM)ken d Wrote:  https://www.wralsportsfan.com/former-unc.../20147747/

Thanks for sharing.

Thorp seems like a really stand-up guy.

Another reminder — even at school with UNC's academic reputation — of just how powerful the big-money athletic boosters tend to be.

Eventually, they're gonna get what they want — maybe even the president's scalp — because revenue sports are just that big of a deal to so many people.