The growing graduation gap By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Staff, 12/28/2001 Second of two parts I HAD NO IDEA I was such a nice guy in what is now my sixth annual Graduation Gap Bowl. Last year I wrote that schools should be banned from college football bowl games if their football team had either an overall graduation rate of under 35 percent or an African-American graduation rate of under 35 percent. They would also be banned if the graduation rate of the African-American players lagged 20 or more percentage points behind their white teammates. Then came along the Knight Commission's report. Last summer this body of 27 current and former college presidents, former Olympic officials, and corporate bigwigs was so outraged over the state of big-time college sports that they proposed that by 2007 teams that have graduated fewer than 50 percent of their players should be banned from postseason play. If that were the rule today, that would cancel nearly every bowl game. Cancel the Rose Bowl. Miami has a graduation rate of 41 percent. Cancel the Orange Bowl. Maryland has a graduation rate of 39 percent. Cancel the Sugar Bowl. Louisiana State has a graduation rate of 40 percent. Cancel the Fiesta Bowl. Colorado has a graduation rate of 45 percent. Cancel the Citrus Bowl. Michigan and Tennessee have respective graduation rates of 45 and 42 percent. Cancel the Gator Bowl. Virginia Tech has a graduation rate of 46 percent. Cancel the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas and Oklahoma have respective graduation rates of 30 and 36 percent. Cancel the Outback Bowl. Ohio State has a graduation rate of 33 percent. Cancel the Peach Bowl. Auburn has a graduation rate of 41 percent. Cancel the Liberty Bowl. Brigham Young and Louisville have respective graduation rates of 21 and 29 percent. Cancel the Silicon Valley Classic. Fresno State and Michigan State have respective graduation rates of 28 and 40 percent. Cancel the Sun Bowl. Washington State has a graduation rate of 49 percent. You might think you could play the Humanitarian Bowl because Louisiana Tech and Clemson have graduation rates of 54 and 57 percent, respectively. But keep reading. Cancel the Insight.com Bowl. Kansas State has a graduation rate of 47 percent. Cancel the Alamo Bowl. Texas Tech has a graduation rate of 42 percent. Cancel the Motor City Bowl. Cincinnati has a graduation rate of 38 percent. You might think you could play the Holiday Bowl because Texas and Washington have graduation rates of 54 and 55 percent, respectively. But keep reading. You might think you could play the Music City Bowl because Boston College and Georgia have graduation rates of 78 and 58 percent, respectively. But keep reading. Cancel the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl. Texas A & M and Texas Christian have respective graduation rates of 33 and 43 percent. Cancel the Independence Bowl. Iowa State has a graduation rate of 44 percent. Cancel the Seattle Bowl. Georgia Tech has a graduation rate of 33 percent. Cancel the Las Vegas Bowl. Utah has a graduation rate of 41 percent. Cancel the Tangerine Bowl. Pittsburgh has a graduation rate of 45 percent. Cancel the GMAC Bowl. Marshall and East Carolina have graduation rates of 44 and 49 percent, respectively. Cancel the New Orleans Bowl. Colorado State and North Texas have graduation rates of 44 and 37 percent, respectively. By the Knight Commission's standards, only three of the 25 bowls could be played. Cancel them, too. Under Jackson's Rules, scratch Clemson, Texas, and Georgia from the Humanitarian, Holiday, and Music City bowls for having African-American player graduation rates at least 26 percentage points lower than their white teammates. In August, USA Today listed the 22 universities that pay their football coaches at least $1 million a year (the average for full university professors is in the $70,000-$80,000 range). Of those 22 schools, 18 made the bowls. Of those 18 teams, 13 had a National Collegiate Athletic Association graduation rate under 50 percent or a gap between the African-American and white players of 20 or more percentage points. The Knight Commission said if the nation's colleges cannot create an ''honorable'' balance between athletics and education, then it is time that they ''get out of the business of big-time sports.'' It is hard to imagine how much more dishonorable the colleges can get, when going by the their graduation rates, not a single bowl game should be played this season. Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com. This story ran on page A27 of the Boston Globe on 12/28/2001. © Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.