New Rutgers head coach does not have the degree he claimed

The New York Times reported today that the newly-hired Rutgers basketball coach, hired to replace the recently-fired (for homophobic ranting) coach, turns out not to have the degree he and the university claimed he had.

The university stated that, in effect, it is no big deal, since the job did not require a degree. But the Times pointed out that a currently-running recruiting ad for an assistant basketball coach says that a degree is required. (The job description didn't say that you have to tell the truth, either.)

Notre Dame fired is newly-hired head football coach a few years ago, in similar circumstances. It'll be interesting to see what Rutgers does.

 

How much of this was Eddie Jordan claiming a degree and how much was it Rutgers claiming Jordan had a degree? I think the school did the announcement--but Jordan certainly could have corrected it.

The school is taking full responsibility, but that doesn't absolve Jordan. Still, has he directly made such a claim? If not, it is plausible he didn't read the bio the school published. It is also plausible that he did--or even reviewed and approved it ahead of time. But all parties are going to clam up now.

The fact that a degree isn't required for the job is irrelevant. Someone either screwed up or lied--that's the issue.

Jordan has a guaranteed contract for $6.5 million over 5 years. Rutgers will hang onto him through a lot more than this, especially if it wasn't his fault (the degree claim).

The contradiction posed by having a degree requirement for the assistant but not for the coach is a good one. It goes to the hypocrisy of college athletics at this level--the revenue generating basketball and football, anyway. You would think an institution of higher learning would want that (the ethos of higher learning) injected into its sports programs, but not at the expense of revenues. That's why the Rutgers administration held onto the other coach even after the scandal was tipped to them. They didn't do anything until the costs of not acting outweighed the costs of acting. It was all about money and the potential for bad press. The billions of dollars made in collegiate basketball and football corrupts.

I say with certainty that none of the shenanigans we've seen with college coaches would be tolerated if there wasn't so much money on the line.

 

Another thing. When looking at this to determine if this is a mistake or a lie, let's ask this: who stands to benefit from the information now revealed to be false? Let's say it was purposeful (by someone). Who is to gain? Did Rutgers need to pretend he graduated? Did he? Someone else? I don't think so. I just don't see it.

It seems like someone made an assumption and went with it. Unless there's some evidence that points directly to a purposeful lie, of course.

 

This is true -- and the proof is that the standards for coaches are actually higher in NCAA Division III athletics, where the money is nonexistent.

For example, the head track & field coach at Williams College led his team to a Division III National Championship and won numerous honors for his coaching ability. Sounds great, right? But there were two problems: (1) he didn't have a master's degree, and (2) he tried to address this deficiency through Rochville University. So he lost his job, even though he was one of the best DIII coaches in the country.

A tiny college like Williams expects its head coaches to have or obtain graduate degrees -- and enforces that requirement rigorously. A major university like Rutgers says that it's no big deal whether its coaches have any degrees at all.

 

I'm OK with Jordan keeping his post IF he's performing well. If he lied - that's plain dumb to me, as such lies are very easily discovered. To me, such a lie - if indeed he told it - would reflect poorly on his intelligence. I certainly hope I'm wrong about that, in this case, as a grasp of strategy, etc. for college and professional sports mandates an unimpaired intellect.

Let him keep his job, if he's doing it well. I doubt his lack of a BA will endanger any athletes under his supervision! Consider a requirement that he complete the degree (he has 103 credits, IIRC) within a reasonable time-frame. And maybe go public that this is an exceptional case and the next person who busts such a move will not receive such a life-saving favour!

And if Mr. Jordan had presented a Rochville degree, as did the dismissed former Williams coach - I would have said "yes, fire him!" Having no degree at all is far better!

Johann