I don't know why Hockey East graduates and fans get offended by the suggestion
the ECAC has better academic schools. There's no shame in being behind a
conference that includes Harvard, Princeton and Yale ... geez!  It's like being
insulted because they say you're not as good as Wayne Gretzky.
 
Second,
   Sean Pickett wrote:
 
> And what about *once* the player is at the school?  What are the
> grade point averages of the ECAC players?  Hockey East lists every
> player with an average of 3.0 or higher for the two semsters they
> play hockey.
>
> Also, what about graduation?  How many players graduate.
>
> You can not use *just* admissions to judge the academics for the
> schools.  You need to know all the facts, including majors, GPA,
> graduation rate.
 
I'm pretty confident you would find the ECAC schools with better stats in this
regard.  It's safe to say most hockey players who don't go pro graduate, even
Maine's.  But it's also safe to say that players at Princeton have to go
through slightly more rigorous programs to do it.
 
But again, so what.  And I'm skeptical about whether this matters in success or
not.  If every player went to college, just like hockey or basketball, then it
would matter, but since most of the players going are academically motivated,
it doesn't matter.
 
> First, except for Jeff Tory, who Shawn Walsh played despite a
> question regarding his academic standing, I know of no other players
> who played despite dubious academic standing.  The problems at Maine
> all appear to steam from the administration of the athletic
> department, not the student-athletes.
 
Cal Ingraham is another - Maine had to forfeit 14 games he played in.  There
may have been another.  I'm not sure who gets the most blame, but there's
plenty to go around.  But this has nothing to do with the other discussion.
You are correct, what Maine does doesn't NECESSARILY reflect on the league.
 
> As for Hockey East, you can not use one school to make a blanket
> statement.  No matter what occured at Maine, it can not be used as an
> example to all Hockey East teams do the same.  I know that Merrimack
> and BU have both suspended players from the hockey team in regards to
> academic problems.
 
You seem to be contradicting yourself.  You say Maine cannot be used to make a
blanket statement, then list two other HEAC schools.  BC, by the way, also had
big problems this year.
 
BTW, Cornell has been investigated for, so far, minor infractions in recent years.
 
Bottom line, it seems indisputable that ECAC contains more rigorous schools,
but that's only relative.  And who cares.  It's all good hockey.
 
AW