43 out of 65 Men's Teams in March Madness Fail to Graduate Even Half of Their Players

A study released this week by Dr. Richard Lapchick of the University of Central Florida reveals that 65 percent of participating schools in the NCAA Tournament fail to graduate even half of their players. The study was based on the 2004 NCAA Graduation Rates Report, which also indicated that two schools, Louisiana State University and the University of Minnesota, failed to graduate even one player on their men's basketball teams.

Such data isn't entirely surprising, as it has been known for some time that college basketball players often don't graduate. Yet, coupled with other data indicating that college basketball players spend, on average, 40 to 50 hours per week engaged in team-related activities (e.g., playing games, practicing, traveling, lifting weights etc.), Dr. Lapchick's study further casts doubt on the wisdom of a 20-year old age-floor for the NBA--an idea currently being negotiated by the NBA and the Players' Union.

It also makes one wonder whether an 18-year old who could otherwise earn guaranteed millions in NBA would be better off in college, where he would encounter extraordinary difficulty finding time to study and where most of his time would be spent partaking in the very same activities that he would experience in the NBA, except for free and at the risk of uncompensated injury. Granted, for those players not ready to enter the NBA, college appears to be the better route, but considering that 83 percent of high school players eligible to be picked in the last nine years were drafted, the ones that are ready already seem to know it prior to each draft.

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