[Mase]

I have no doubt that desired athletes are treated differently than other students when it comes to admission requirements. It's a sad reality of today's collegiate economics.

I used Stanford as an example of what college athletic programs could and should be as I have first hand knowledge of just how stringent their admission standards are, and that they are applied evenly. I would also offer Duke as a similar example.There are many others that can also be cited, Ivy League included - although I'm sure exceptions are made, especially for minorities who come from difficult environments. Even so, it's near impossible to go to Princeton if you're a dummy.

But let's not forget the comment I was originally responding to:

The whole concept of top level college football being associated with “academics” is somewhat of a stretch.

I've found that people who make broad and sweeping generalizations like this one usually don't have much of an understanding of the subject. Your mileage may vary.

[Aurorales]

Let me rephrase and not be so general with my statement...
I have first hand knowledge of Stanford and Princeton and my list could be much longer if I cared, very actively recruiting and lowering their standards to let in highly desirable athletes.