WRAL Sports Fan

Notre Dame, Duke show academics go with sport

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/lopresti/2012/12/17/notre-dame-football-duke-basketball-high-academics/1774987/

Duke is No. 1 in basketball.

Notre Dame is No. 1 in football.

I know, I know. This is the nightmare scenario for some of you. Not just one of the teams you wouldn't be caught dead rooting for, but two. Air sickness bag, anyone?

But love them or loathe them - and the planet is full of those who do both - don't miss the big picture here.

They're the GSR Duet. Graduation Success Rate, which measures the percentage of athletes in a program who earn their degrees. Notre Dame football clocked in at 97% on the last survey, and nobody else in the FBS can claim better. But Duke basketball can. A nice round 100%.

So the top-ranked teams in the polls are also the top-ranked teams in diplomas. Just when you thought you couldn't hear the term "student-athlete'' one more time and keep a straight face, here's a pair of programs that go together like cap and gown. The moral of their story: Apparently, you can win big, and still show up for history class.

"I think we're going to validate that this year, you can do both,'' Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly said the other day, "and they don't have to be mutually exclusive.''

That's too important a message to get lost in antipathy, times being what they are in college athletics. It's been proven before, but seldom by blood this blue, in both major sports at the same time.

Notre Dame's top star is senior Manti Te'o. He has a 3.3 grade point average as a design major, with a flair for art. Duke's top star is senior Mason Plumlee. He's an Academic All-American majoring in psychology and cultural anthropology. Notre Dame starts four graduate students.

RE: Notre Dame, Duke show academics go with sport

Duke starts three seniors. Plumlee, Seth Curry with his double major in sociology and African and African-American studies, and Ryan Kelly, with something on his academic resume called National Latin Exam, magna cum laude.

Clearly, the two teams are doing well in all the rankings: USA TODAY Sports, Associated Press, Mensa.

Yes, there are those who would cheer for Attila the Hun before they'd cheer for a Blue Devil jersey or a gold helmet. The masses often resent the privileged.

And yes, these two match perfectly in a lot of ways. Reputation. Renown. Reverence to some, repugnance to others.

Notre Dame hasn't failed to sell out a home football game since 1973. Duke hasn't failed to sell out a home basketball game since 1990.

Notre Dame won 11 national championships, all before 1989. Duke has won four national championships, all since 1991.

Notre Dame's golden age began with a man of Norwegian ancestry from Chicago named Knute. Duke's golden age began with a man of Polish ancestry from Chicago named Krzyzewski.

Notre Dame fully earned the No. 1 spot by beating the likes of Oklahoma, Michigan, Stanford and USC - but still needed Alabama to lose.

Duke fully earned the No. 1 spot by beating the likes of Louisville, Ohio State, Kentucky and Minnesota - but still needed Indiana to lose.
Both are where they are this season largely because of defense. Notre Dame has given up 10.33 points per game. Duke has given up 38.3% shooting percentage per game. Notre Dame has allowed two rushing touchdowns all season. Duke has allowed fewer than seven assists in five of nine games. For another championship, Notre Dame needs only one more win in January.

RE: Notre Dame, Duke show academics go with sport

Duke will need six wins in March and April.

Everyone out there who can't decide which of those possibilities is worse, raise your hands. What next on the team-you-love-to-hate parade, the New York Yankees back in the World Series?

But be careful what you root against. There is a long-standing concern about graduation rates as a blight on big-time college sport, so it can't be a bad thing when both No. 1 teams have the goods.

Matter of fact, it's something to applaud -- the message, if not the teams. In the privacy of your home when nobody else is looking, if you prefer.

RE: Notre Dame, Duke show academics go with sport

Great read 903, two of the most prestigious programs in the land, and both ranked 1. Juat goes to show doing things the right way and keeping your nose to the grind stone can really pay off. Cant wait till ND joins the league, and go DUKE!