TU Rains on our Parade

[Classof72/74]

It appears that the Albany Times-Union just could not stand to have an issue with entirely positive coverage of UA's big day

 

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572437

 

[scrabbleship]

It appears that the Albany Times-Union just could not stand to have an issue with entirely positive coverage of UA's big day

 

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572437

 

 

A good friend of mine is currently finishing his MS in the Geology department and seems indifferent to the mercy killing of the department. Outside of that sad reality (we shouldn't kill programs at this juncture given the money pouring in), that article was junk given the positives it's brought to the school.

[purplehaze]

It appears that the Albany Times-Union just could not stand to have an issue with entirely positive coverage of UA's big day

 

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572437

 

F___ the TU. Was this necessary, In the midst of what is happening ???? Boycott their frusen paper!

[Mattmo]

Don't worry about it...the same exact $iena comes up in Burlington too. Most professors and those in academia are bitter about the same types of things. I had one professor, who was talking about the localization of cable television in the area to counter, then Adelphia (now Comcast) and then went on to complain that UVM wouldn't use the new local cable because the hockey and basketball teams were on CN8 and NESN, because they would stand to LOSE money if they did. He acted as if he wanted the university to lose revenue from TV games. We don't even get the CN8 channel on campus anyway, so the viewership of away games goes down on campus if the game is broadcast on that station anyway.

 

Also, when Trimboli signed 2 summers ago, there was a lot of coverage about it, which was a good thing since the sports section was generally pretty weak when it came to those things. Followed by it, there were letters to the editor saying things along the lines of "why are we talking so much about a kid coming to play basketball when we should be talking about kids getting in with academics, but we dont"

 

Even when UVM beat Syracuse and it was a front page story, people wrote letters complaining that it wasnt "newsworthy" enough to be on the front page.

 

You always are going to have those types anywhere you live.

 

Tough start to the game...but good luck!!

[olddog71]

Mattmo,

 

You are very correct in your analysis.

 

Jealousy just too often rears its ugly head.

 

These professors sometimes can't look beyond their own noses. Because a school does well in a particular athletic event - which many of these professors watch, then chances are that scholars doing research will actually take a look at what the professor publishes. All too often if you can't relate to a school, you simply bypass the work, as good as the research might be. Fact of life. Both aspects of a university rub each other's back. Very little need to backbite.

[twballgame9]

I would point out that Andrew Zimbalist is a gigantic jerkoff that hates sports.

 

Ask schools that have been going to the tournament consistently whether the exposure of sports increases applications. And eff him for saying that people who watch sports are the dumb ones anyway.

[UA_MA_2000]

I would point out that Andrew Zimbalist is a gigantic jerkoff that hates sports.

 

Ask schools that have been going to the tournament consistently whether the exposure of sports increases applications. And eff him for saying that people who watch sports are the dumb ones anyway.

 

I believe it was during the St. Bon. game this season, which I listened to on the radio (because someone was out too late in the bars the night before), the President of UAlbany was interviewed during halftime and stated that "applications are up 35% to 40%." That's an amazing jump, and I have yet to independently verify that or hear it from another source, but the bottom line is the same: applications are way, way up in the past year or so. In other states, the top high school students often seek out their state schools: I hope that this becomes the case in NY.

 

And for those who disagree that there is a strong relationship between sports and academics, I need not look any farther than myself. I went to Buffalo as opposed to UAlbany or any other school for my undergraduate degree simply because, at that time, Buffalo was the only SUNY school that was Division I in sports (I attended college in the mid 90's; graudated in February of 1999), and they were about to go in football to what we then called Division I-A football! And I could have attended many private schools and higher ranked schools (not that Buffalo is bad; it's a very fine school), but I decided against that beacuse I wanted to be at a big state school that was Div. I in athletics. I am quite sure that there are many young students out there who think the same way!

[B9j2j6s]

I always wanted to go to a big name sports school like Syracuse or UConn but my parents could not afford it. I'm glad that UA has achieved the level it has. As for sports success bringing in a lower quality of student that is BS. Ask people that go to Duke, UNC, USC, Syracuse if they are of lower quality.

 

BTW UA only accepts a certain number of applicants each year, if applications are up 35% to 40% that just means the admissions office will be more selective then they have been in the past. Which IMHO is not a bad thing.

[statefan]

To change the topic slightly, I didn't hear this personally but I have been told that Vandenburgh spewed an anti-UAlbany tirade on Friday, complaining that our basketball team did not deserve the local media attention it was receiving. If anyone actually heard his show and can confirm or repudiate it, i'd be interested in hearing what he said.

[UA_MA_2000]

I always wanted to go to a big name sports school like Syracuse or UConn but my parents could not afford it. I'm glad that UA has achieved the level it has. As for sports success bringing in a lower quality of student that is BS. Ask people that go to Duke, UNC, USC, Syracuse if they are of lower quality.

 

BTW UA only accepts a certain number of applicants each year, if applications are up 35% to 40% that just means the admissions office will be more selective then they have been in the past. Which IMHO is not a bad thing.

 

B9 ..., I agree. With more applications received, the more selective admissions can be, and, thus, the better incoming freshman class we will have. And you're right, sports and big universities normally attract good students. I laughed at a line in a movie that recently came out called "Accepted." The line in that movie that made me laugh went to the effect that the more applications a school rejects, the better that school is. Not exactly true, but not that far off the mark (i.e., higher demand, better ranking, and vice versa).

 

You and I are also far better off --- IMHO --- having attended UAlbany than racking up large amount of fiscal debt to go to Syracuse, for example (taking out loans for schools like Duke, UNC, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, UVA, or UC Berkeley, is ok, IMHO, but NOT Syracuse!). I'm also not so sure SU is that much better of a school than UAlbany (especially at the graudate program level, save the communications program at SU), but that is an argument for another day. In terms of "bang for your buck," the four SUNY universities are the way to go! (again, IMHO).

[purplehaze]

To change the topic slightly, I didn't hear this personally but I have been told that Vandenburgh spewed an anti-UAlbany tirade on Friday, complaining that our basketball team did not deserve the local media attention it was receiving. If anyone actually heard his show and can confirm or repudiate it, i'd be interested in hearing what he said.

I did not hear of it----even if he did--Vandenburgh is not taken seriously--his tirades are meant to stir his audience----all 25 of his listeners.

[B9j2j6s]

UA__MA, I liked that line as well. IMHO the only difference between UAlbany and Binghamton is how selective admissions is. I'm also glad that UA is able to put together such a strong D-1 sports program without increasing the cost of tuition.

[scrabbleship]

To change the topic slightly, I didn't hear this personally but I have been told that Vandenburgh spewed an anti-UAlbany tirade on Friday, complaining that our basketball team did not deserve the local media attention it was receiving. If anyone actually heard his show and can confirm or repudiate it, i'd be interested in hearing what he said.

I did not hear of it----even if he did--Vandenburgh is not taken seriously--his tirades are meant to stir his audience----all 25 of his listeners.

 

When your only local competition (less NPR) is a mish-mosh from a has-been whose audience is dying, you can get away with saying a lot of things. Also, WROW is the home of our nemesis and is owned by a company headed by a key donor to said nemesis.

 

Don't forget the conga line of advertisers, all of which Vandenburgh "takes care of". It's like Wyland without sports or a second marriage, only with politics instead of sports.