Grades Are In

Sporting News, The, Sept 13, 1999 by Steve Gietschier

So what does Duke get for its money? Our report card gave the Blue Devils an A (DO WE GRADUATE?), an A- (DO WE PLAY FAIR?), a D (DO WE WIN?) and a B- (DO WE ROCK?).

Many Division I-A schools have football and basketball programs with poor graduation rates, but Duke is well ahead of the curve. The Blue Devils' four-class graduation rate (the classes that entered school in 1989, 1990,1991 and 1992) was 92 percent for football and 82 percent for basketball. Compare this to 52 percent and 40 percent for all 112 Division I-A schools. In addition, 96 percent of Duke student-athletes who stayed in school long enough to exhaust their athletic eligibility graduated, compared to the national average of 82 percent.

Duke does not draw large crowds for football (9-35 over the past four seasons), but College basketball iS at its best in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The "Cameron Crazies" are considered some of the most knowledgeable fans in the sport, and their antics often push close to the edge.

Duke has one area that could be improved. Its gender equity score--the difference between the percentage of females in the student body (48.7 percent) and the percentage of female athletes (36.8 percent)--is questionable. Federal rules mandate a difference of no more than 5 percent to be in compliance with Title IX.

Duke's student-athletes win and do well in the classroom, and its athletic department graduates with honors. --Mark Pesavento

RELATED ARTICLE: TRAVEL EXPENSES

All teams have to hit the road, but some do it with a little more style.

To determine how much style costs, we decided to compare the anticipated expenses of Big Ten power Michigan (No. 13) with the Mid-American Conference's Central Michigan (No. 92) during their upcoming football trips to Indiana and Bali State, respectively.

The Wolverines' trip will be about 100 miles farther, and it will cost, when all the receipts are tallied, more than six times as much.

Michigan will leave Ann Arbor on Friday, October 29 for its game at Bloomington the next day. The 119 people on the traveling squad, including athletes, coaches, trainers and managers, will board a plane and fly out of Detroit to start the spending spree. The cost of the flight is $39,500. After getting off the plane, the Wolverines will load onto a bus ($7,000) and make their way to the hotel (another $7,000). Michigan will use about 60 rooms, though more are booked.

By contrast, the 89-member traveling squad for CMU will leave Mount Pleasant on Friday, November 19 for the game at Muncie the next day. Instead of getting on a plane, the Chippewas will load onto two buses for the five-hour ride, with a $3,100 price tag for the 526-mile round trip.

After the first leg of the trip, CMU will haul its gear to the hotel, where it has 45 rooms reserved ($2,475).

And don't forget, these guys have to eat. Most of the meals for both teams are served at the hotels. For Michigan, add another $7,000, and for CMU, about haft as much.

When the teams arrive home, Michigan's expenditures dwarf CMU's: $60,500 to $9,125. --Stacy Clardie