FSU Football: Embarrassing graduation rate another fault of previous staff

FSU football found themselves with not just the lowest Academic Progress Rate for the recently released year in the ACC, but the entire Power Five.

There are plenty of things to be proud of when it comes to the FSU football program: the rich tradition of championship won by the Seminoles, one of the best stadiums in all of football and the fact that the Noles haven’t had a losing season in over four decades to go along with make a postseason bowl game for the last 36 seasons.

One thing that we have to admit has not been a bright spot is the fact that the Seminoles keep falling short in the NCAA’s annual Academic Progress Rate score that is released each year.

In the latest release that came out this week, FSU football actually did see a slight improvement in their score on a yearly basis with the Seminoles getting a 966 out of a possible 1000  for the 2016-17 academic year – up drastically from a 918 the previous school year that was 12 points lower than the minimum number allowed to pass.

Now for the bad news: the four year average that is calculated by the NCAA to decide things like bowl eligibility, loss of scholarships and more for the Seminoles is at 941 – and while that is two points higher than the previous year’s average, it’s still the lowest of any Power Five program.

Not just the lowest in the state of Florida or the ACC, but also all of the major conferences – hell, if it wasn’t for being tied with Akron and Texas State while barely beating UMass, Bowling Green and Georgia Southern, the Seminoles would be the lowest in all of the FBS.

After having a program single year high of 971 during the 2010-11 school year, FSU football dropped in numbers four of the next five years to that program low of 918. While their really is no where to go but up and the average will improve as the single year numbers do, the embarrassment of being that bad falls at the feat of the “leaders” of the program during that span.

It’s no secret that the previous coach for FSU football was all about one thing and one thing only: what took place on the field. He talked a big game about wanting his players to be the best in the classroom, but the numbers show that there was nothing done during the previous administration  to promote players graduating – to the point where the Seminoles were below the minimum number required to pass.

He was a real life version of the head coach from 1999’s Varsity Blues, Bud Kilmer. The character portrayed by Jon Voight was someone that only cared about what the players could do for him on the field. I’m more than willing to put some of the blame on players for leaving it early, but it’s on the staff and their leader to institute a atmosphere that promotes getting the degree.

As a FSU graduate, I am particularly upset because of how this makes the academics at the school look. We are one of the top institutions in the country in a variety of subjects, but this news gives off the impression that we are not a school that actually gives a real degree and we are nothing more than a football factory.

We are not FSU football only – we are Florida State UNIVERSITY. Now, we finally have a coach who has made it clear that he wants players to not just excel on the field, but also off of it and in the classroom.

"“Just do right and do right all the time,” Taggart said to the Orlando Sentinel during ACC spring meetings. “There are consequences for your actions and they all understand that. I do think every situation is different, but we have rules and we laid them out to our guys. And we’re not going to budge with them. When you do these things, this is what’s going to happen so there are no ifs ands or buts when you do make a mistake.”"

I’m going to be just as proud as any other FSU football fan when the Seminoles win their next national title in the coming seasons – I’m going to be just as proud when the program is one of the tops at graduating their players.

Next: Why FSU has been best program over last 30 years

Thankfully, we have a coach now who actually is a true leader in not just shaping great players, but also great men for the future after their final football down.