Quote from: PaulNewman on October 24, 2018, 01:07:58 PM

I would love to see some hard data but I recall reading or hearing in the past that 25% to as high as 35-40% of students at some elite D3s are athletes playing for varsity teams.

I think at some schools, you're definitely right. UChicago, my immediate experience, has ~5,000 undergrads and ~500 athletes so 10%. Which is not insignificant. But in remembering my experience, diversity was still shown in the athletes. So you're correct, I may have misstated. As a former college athlete and one who thought it added a ton to my education, if a school chooses that as their values paradigm, then ok. But they then need to adjust admissions accordingly.

Lots of sliding scales/dependent variables here. But it seems as though some schools are focused on one thing and ignoring the consequences.

First point: athletes make up a small percentage of these schools, so while the admission rate is VERY different, it is not making a massive impact on the overall population (in most cases).

Main point:

This is an indictment of you sports development (and somewhat education) in our country, not the admissions process of schools. Soccer is a glaring example of lacking minority athletes because of socio-economic factors. This has recently become a major point as US Soccer struggles to find direction and quality players from the massive pool that our country has. Due to socio-economic advantages, these affluent white kids are the ones that are at the levels (academically and athletically) that qualify for college sports. The developmental systems in our country fail those at a socio-economic disadvantage long before they ever reach a college admissions process.

Quote from: PaulNewman on October 22, 2018, 02:02:42 PM
And speaking of Chicago, are fans/followers of the Maroons concerned about the two losses, or are the losses viewed as helpful in terms of getting the squad focused down the stretch?  They clearly are already in the tournament, even if they should falter further in the last three UAA tilts.

I mentioned a week or two ago that I thought they might be going too conservative in some games, absorbing too much pressure with a one goal lead against, iirc, Calvin and more recently CMU.

I would not fancy their chances in a rematch with Calvin, as I think the Calvin coach after two looks at Chicago would have a pretty solid plan for Lopez and Koh.  Also would not favor Chicago at this point versus Messiah or Tufts.  And I would guess North Park wouldn't mind another crack, although North Park and Chicago might well end up in different sectionals.

I am a UChicago alumnus and although not close to the team, I would guess that they are not at all worried. It is tough to have 3 big UAA games left, but they are in the tourney and have to be confident in their ability to win big games. They have a lot of experience and coach Babst is a great coach who keeps them relaxed and confident.

All of the games you listed would be great matchups and tough to pick a 'favorite' in any of them, especially when they're happening in the tournament. I think just about any team will struggle to shut down all of Chicago's offensive options (much more than Koh + Lopez), and having a couple games of lacking a finishing touch is to be expected. Better they come now than in a month!

I'm looking forward to seeing how this team comes down the stretch as I know they all feel like they should have won a national title last year and a lot of those guys are back.

Chicago alum here... any idea what happened to Hill Bonin? Is he injured?