Study: Top schools in NCAA tourney not tops in classroom
North Carolina was the only school among the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men’s tournament to graduate at least 50 percent of its players.
A report released Monday found 86 percent of Tar Heels men’s players earned diplomas during a six-year period. The other top seeds were far worse: 45 percent at Kansas, and 40 percent at both UCLA and Memphis.
The study was conducted by Richard Lapchick, head of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. It evaluated four different freshman classes for a period beginning in 1997-98 and ending with 2000-01. Though the players evaluated are no longer on campus, the report intends to provide a snapshot of academic trends.
Lapchick’s primary concern was the disparity between black and white players. Thirty-three schools graduated at least 70 percent of their white men’s basketball players; only 19 graduated that many black players. At least 50 percent of white players earned degrees at 45 schools, but black athletes had that much success at only 36 schools.
But the study found that the achievement gap was shrinking. At 34 percent of tournament-bound teams, there was a 30-point or greater difference in graduation success between black and white players, down from 49 percent last year. Black players continued to succeed in higher rates than black non-athletes.
“Higher education’s greatest failure is the persistent gap between African American and white basketball student-athletes in particular, and students in general,” Lapchick wrote. “The good news there is that the gaps are narrowing slightly.”
According to NCAA data, graduation rates for black men’s basketball players have improved 14 percent overall since 1984.
“We’ve seen some real improvement over time,” NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said. “There’s always room for more improvement, but we’re pleased with the progress.”
The NCAA tournament field is 65 teams, but not all could be included in the analysis. Cornell, like other Ivy League schools, doesn’t report graduation rates. Gonzaga had no black players. Ten schools had no white athletes.
Two of the No. 2 seeds, Tennessee and Texas, graduated only 33 percent of their players for the period studied. The other second seeds, Georgetown and Duke, had success rates of 82 percent and 67 percent, respectively.
Ala. museum gets 1960s Birmingham police tanks
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is the new owner of a steely reminder of the racial struggles of the 1960s: A pair of armored personnel carriers that police used during demonstrations by blacks seeking justice.
Long retired and rusted, the museum hopes to refurbish the tank-like vehicles and incorporate them into a display.
“During the early ’60s they did patrol through the streets of Birmingham,” said Angela Fisher Hall, vice president of publications for the institute.
The wheeled carriers were used by then-Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor to protect officers from violence during civil rights demonstrations. They also were a menacing show of force to protesters.
The blue-and-white personnel carriers have been stored at a landfill for years. The city donated them to the museum, located in the heart of the area where protests occurred in 1963.
“It is so important for us to preserve the legacy of our civil rights forefathers. We want our young people to know where they came from and the struggle that got them to where they are now,” Mayor Larry Langford said in a statement.
Two in W.Va. torture case get maximum sentences
LOGAN, W.Va. — Two defendants charged in connection with the torture of a black woman in Logan County last summer have received the maximum sentences possible.
Karen Burton, 46, and Frankie Brewster, 49, were sentenced last Thursday for their roles in the kidnapping and assault of Megan Williams. Both pleaded guilty last month.
Logan County Circuit Judge Roger Perry sentenced Burton, of Chapmanville, to three consecutive sentences. She received two separate sentences of 2-10 years for malicious assault and assault during the commission of a felony, and one 10-year sentence for the civil rights charge.
Brewster received a 10-to-25-year sentence for second-degree sexual assault.
Authorities say Williams was held captive for several days last summer at Brewster’s trailer in Big Creek. In addition to the beatings and assaults, authorities said Williams was forced to eat animal feces and stabbed.
The 21-year-old Charleston woman was rescued by Logan County sheriff’s deputies on Sept. 8 after they received an anonymous tip.
Williams and her parents were in the courtroom, and wept as the sentences were read.
“I just believe he (prosecutor Brian Abraham) shouldn’t have plea-bargained with any of them,” her mother Carmen Williams said during a press conference after the sentencing. “She (Megan Williams) wanted them to do life.”
Two other defendants had already pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Burton’s 23-year-old daughter, Alisha, and George Messer, 27, both pleaded guilty in February to kidnapping and assault. They received 10-year sentences.
Felony charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault, are pending against Brewster’s 24-year-old son, Bobby, and Danny Combs, 21.
A seventh defendant, Karen Burton’s son, Linnie Burton Jr., 21, was indicted on a misdemeanor battery charge.
