[Eric in the Ozarks]

A Duluth buddy told me the following story;
His son was a standout football player for one of the area high schools and had chosen the University of Iowa as a school to study engineering and play football. The man and his son drove down to meet coach Hayden Fry who liked what he saw in the young student athlete. But Fry made it clear the lad could either play Big Ten football or go after the engineering degree; not both. The kid opted for Michigan Tech, got a first class education and played football.

[T-Bird45]

I know of a similar story at my alma mater involving a contemporary of my son. He tried to buck the system and did play football while in engineering but eventually the system and the coach broke him of the thought. He left football and got the engineering degree, likely is now working in his family’s concrete business.

[diogenes ghost]

"But Fry made it clear the lad could either play Big Ten football or go after an engineering degree, not both.."

Same thing happened this year with the top national recruit, Da'Shawn Hand. He was expected to pick Michigan, primarily due to it's combination of football and engineering. But Michigan made it clear that both were not an option, so he ended up going to Alabama.

As a Michigan fan, it hurts to lose such an obviously great recruit, but on the other hand it's nice to see integrity in the athletic programs.