--- [log in to unmask] wrote: When I say that education takes second place to hockey I'm referring to the school's point of view which may or may not equate with the player/student. --- end of quote --- Right, and if you believe any of the Ivies put athletics before academics, you are fooling yourself. Just as they don't want 1000's of nerds walking around their campuses, they don't want 1000's of "dumb jocks" either. I would be willing to bet that all 8 of the college presidents resent the fact that the Ivy League was formed originally as an athletic conference. There is a reason why there is an oft running joke that whenever an Ivy school has any success at all athletically the academics view it as "too successful" and feel the need to make it tougher. Dartmouth spends $10.8 million annually on 34 varsity sports. That $10.8M is chump change compared to what gets spent on the rest of the college. Just because someone gets an extra check in the plus column in the admissions process because he is an athlete doesn't mean the college/university is placing athletics before education. Change "athlete" to "disadvantaged minority" or "high school newspaper editor" or whatever makes one person stand out above others, and tell me you would still complain about it.