Re: >>>>RIT 2010 Offseason Thread-"You have to be a genius to go to RIT"
Re: >>>>RIT 2010 Offseason Thread-"You have to be a genius to go to RIT"
I think I hear Remy chuckling. The object here is to grow the program and become better; I would like to go to a Frozen Four one day and actually be favored to win.
Yes, to grow and become better, but not at the expense of the academic integrity of our well respected institution. Admittedly, college hockey doesn't see anywhere near as many of the academic abuses of the term "student-athlete" that the other big sports do. However the perception from the outside of the big schools with 18 scholarships and booster financial support up the wazoo that consistently are favored to win in the FF is similar to the perception of the big football and basketball programs. And that perception is that the school is sacrificing academics for the win at all costs mentality. I kind of prefer that schools like RIT (and there are many others in college hockey) maintain their integrity in reality and in perception. I kind of relish the (as nanotiger termed it) the underdog role and being capable of pulling off a season like the Tigers just had without being perceived as a "franchise" team like Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, etc. Like I said, I am not impugning any of those schools' true academic records or their student athletes. Even at those schools, the academic success and graduation rates of the hockey players are considerably better than the truly corrupted sports' athletes. But the perception remains that that isn't the case. Just ask someone who isn't as close to the game as we are as fans what they think and I'll bet they think it's all the same.
Plus, I kind of found it much more exciting to be rooting for this team knowing that they weren't supposed to have been doing what they were doing than rooting for BC (which I do once RIT's eliminated since my sister is an Eagle alum), who is pretty much expected to be there and have a great chance at winning all the time. It's still exciting, but not the same. Kind of like the quandry of a life-long Yankee fan having the disappointment of the fact that any time they don't win the whole thing the season is considered a failure, as opposed to rooting for someone like the Rays who aren't going to be there all the time, but when they do it's truly envigorating.
To be underdogs all the time means we really are not getting any better. You’re missing the purpose of having a sports program. I think Matt will even agree with me there.
With all due respect, I heartily believe that it is you who is missing the point. College athletics' goal is not just about winning. It is about a well rounded collegiate experience for students who are willing and able to balance academics and athletics successfully while representing the school and their fellow students in the best possible way through competition and sportsmanship. Yes, each and every college team should (in theory) be striving to excel and win as much as possible. Otherwise, why play? But the bottom line isn't to win at all costs. Each and every student-athlete on each and every team at each and every school approaches their college careers and goals given different situations, constraints, advantages, etc..., and sets their goals accordingly. If RIT's hockey program wants its athletes to set their goals to be similar to those of the goals of the players at BC, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc., they're going to have to radically change the entire philosophy of the athletic department. They'd have to move all the school's teams to Division I, offer a full allotment of scholarships, build a new much larger arena, join the CCHA or Hockey East (forget ECAC if they want to be a powerhouse), find many boosters with very very deep pockets, and go for it. Something tells me that isn't going to happen. Right now and for the foreseeable future, the RIT hockey program is what it is and I, for one, am enjoying every minute of it and couldn't be more proud that I've been a Tiger fan for 25+ years and counting.
I also don't want to spoil your dinner, but the notion that all our guys are here primarily for an education is simply not true. We already have a Steve Pinizotto who left school early to pursue a professional hockey career. We have also had guys go straight into other professional leagues. There also at least one player on the team now who was/is considering leaving school early.
Talk about extrapolating a rule from the exception. Nearly all of the RIT hockey players are here for an education. One of them left early because he was lured out by one of those stupid three year contracts that aren't at the end of the day worth much, especially if you leave school early and then don't make it. (Fortunately, it appears that Steve P. has established himself at least at the AHL level so he probably can continue to make a living at the game, but not all are that fortunate). But I digress. Just because some of the players go directly to pro hockey out of school doesn't mean they weren't there for the education. Most of the guys that have gone pro have gone to leagues far removed from NHL, so it's clear that their main goal isn't to strike it rich, but to continue playing the game they love for at least a little while and get paid for it before having to go into the real world where they will (... wait for it...) USE THE COLLEGE DEGREE THEY EARNED WHILE AT RIT. And even when the current and future crops of Tigers begin to churn out a few AHL and potential NHL players now and then, that certainly doesn't mean that they weren't here for the education. Most of the guys going into a non-scholarship school like RIT understand that sports' playing careers are short and the degree is fundamental to a successful career in or out of hockey.
Now will most fall back on their education, yes, but that what happens in most all D-I colleges.
And most intend to. I don't think anyone said that every single player that ever laced them up for RIT was completely and totally about academics first, but whose to say that even Pinizotto hasn't continued to or isn't intending to complete his degree? Just because he left doesn't mean he didn't go to RIT for the education. Same would apply to the player you say may be leaving early now.
Note: A few RIT hockey players have left "early" because although their athletic eligibility had not been used up, they had already graduated from school.
Let me put myself at risk of upsetting the NCAA elitist out there. The purpose of going to college is not to get a degree. The real objective is to set yourself up for life and if you can do that by playing sports and making millions than more power to you. That is why I will never think less of someone who decides to leave school early because they have the best chance to make it in a professional career in ANY field.
There's so much right and yet wrong with that paragraph, I don't know where to start. Yes, college is for preparing you to be successful in life, not just to get a degree. But having and or developing the work ethic, intelligence, dedication, desire, and wherewithall necessary for completing the requirements for a degree go a long way towards helping you become a success in life, whatever field you go into. Is it "wrong" for a student to leave early to pursue a multi-million dollar career? Certainly not. But the fact remains that a very small percentage of athletes are both capable and lucky enough to be able to do that. Unfortunately, there are agents and professional teams out there who do not give a **** about the athletes' futures and lure them out of school with nonsense contracts on the off chance that they will pan out to help the organization in some way in the future. If it doesn't work out, they're out on their butt with no more hockey, no college degree, and very little if any money to show for it. So at this point, they have to find a way to go back to school and pay for it somehow so they can resume their life. For some like Phil Kessel, Erik Johnson, Paul Kariya or Thomas Vanek, certainly leaving school was a no-brainer. They were able to make big bucks right out of the gate. They're not the type of player I'm concerned about or the type of player who is going to be attending RIT any time soon.
As to leaving school early to pursue a professional career in any field other than sports, I don't think too many firms are lining up outside the freshman dorms on college campuses plucking the A students out and offering them huge salaries to leave school early. I'm sure it happens in unusual cases (like that incoming RIT freshman that re-designed his iPhone to accept carriers other than AT&T in his spare time - he probably could have left early for a pro career - not sure if he did or not), but most of the time that is not a possibilty.
