Article on Todd Saldana in Soccer America

The September 11, 2002 edition of Soccer America features an article on Todd Saldana, the former UCLA soccer coach with a Columbia State University degree. This article has quotes from Saldana about the work he did to obtain the degree. http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562132172

 

If Mr. Saldana would agree to an in-depth interview, this could be a good article for degreeinfo.com.

If anyone has his address, I'll offer to review his enrollment history, coursework, and fees and report back.

While we all know Columbia State was a complete scam, is it possible some students may have acted in good faith?

 

Well, some people, when caught, are remorseful (such as the letter I posted earlier today). And some, like Coach Saldana, behave outrageously. From what is well known about how Columbia State operated, there is zero possibility that Saldana is telling the truth when he says he completed eight rigorous courses. Zero.

Before applying for the search warrant on Columbia State, the USPS did a very thorough investigation, and submitted a 20-page report to the judge. They interviewed the woman at the Columbia State warehouse in California, who was responsible for 'sending out courses.' She said that although it was not necessary to get the degree, if the client seemed to want to do a little something, her job was to go down to Barnes and Noble and buy one book, more or less in the right field, and send it to the client, with a note saying to read it and write a book report. She made clear that no one ever read what was sent in, and no more than one book per client.

 

A minor point, but he apparently claims more than eight courses. Quote from the article: "Saldana completed more than a dozen courses by mail and estimates he spent about $8,000 on the courses ..."

He's either a liar or one of the world's most hapless suckers.

 

"In 2001, the year before Fitzgerald arrived, the tradition-rich Bruin program struggled to a 12-7-4 record under Todd Saldaña, needing a win in double-overtime on the final day of the season to secure an NCAA tournament berth. A few months later in April of 2002, it was discovered that Saldaña's bachelor's degree came from an unaccredited school (Columbia State University). Because of the UCLA athletic department rule stating that all head coaches must have valid bachelor's degrees, Saldaña was let go."
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=26781

 

I'm pleased that in this article they refer to Saldaña's degree as being from "a diploma mill" not simply an unaccredited school: Fitzgerald’s successor must be from Bruin den

 

Those that are the loudest about their academic crentials are those that need to be looked at the closest. Saldana is trying to justify his fake crednential and there is no way he can swing it with a Columbia State diploma.

Reminds me a of story about someone who presented my wife with two diploma copies for a bachelor and masters from the Univ. of Pittsburgh. The copies were so dark and hardly legible. He became very loud and argumentaive when asked about his credentials essentially stating that he had attended the school and was awarded the degrees. After some checking, it was verified that he had attended but he never graduated. Somehow he really felt entitled to the degrees because he had attended the school and his current job position placed him in the executive ranks.

John

 

DrWetsch wrote:

> Somehow he really felt entitled to the degrees because he
> had attended the school and his current job position placed him
> in the executive ranks.

Yes, I can see his logic. Bill Clinton dopped out of Oxford, but Oxford eventually gave Clinton an honorary degree anyway because of his executive rank, and there was even speculation he might become Chancellor!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2634825.stm
http://www.degreeinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=7088