This issue has come to the forefront since it came out that academic restrictions were a big reason for Gary Andersen leaving Wisconsin, but anyone who’s familiar with our athletic department knows that this is nothing new. I’ve confirmed that theory with multiple reliable sources who are better than yours, by the way. They believe academic restrictions were the real reason for Gary’s departure, not some type of cover up or excuse. So the question then becomes, would you want the University to change those requirements in an effort to improve our athletics? I know UW has already spoken out and said that they won’t be changing, but if you were in charge, would they? If we started bending the rules a bit so we could attract more top tier athletes, it’s a fact that we would see the results on the field/court. Every year there are just certain guys that our coaches have to cross off the recruiting list because it would be impossible to get them into school here. We just have a smaller pool of guys that we can choose from, and if that wasn’t the case, we’d probably have a few more trophies on our shelves. Plus, it just seems like everyone else is doing it. All you have to do is listen to a few postgame interviews to figure out that a lot of guys playing college sports are complete idiots who couldn’t care less about going to school. The fact of the matter is that we expect championships out of our teams, when really we’re not on the same playing field as a lot of our opponents because we can never get a lot of those huge recruits.

But even though it’s frustrating, honestly I wouldn’t want it to change. There’s something special about being a Wisconsin Badger, and not being a dumbass is part of that. Everybody knows which schools are challenging and which schools are a free ride, and UW is the former (For our Marquette readers, that means it’s the first one). That probably sounds self-righteous, but it’s true. That reputation is worth something. Plus, it’s not like the guys we’re recruiting have to get a 30 on their ACT to get in. I’m not claiming that every student-athlete at UW was some type of scholar in high school. The expectations aren’t really that crazy, but the University does draw a line. Some guys will never be able to play here because they’d never be able to learn here, and that’s never gonna change. I can understand the other point of view because I obviously live and die with Badger sports, but this is also just part of Badger sports. UW holds these guys to a higher standard than most schools who compete at this level, and when we finally break through and win a big one, it’ll make it that much more special.