Actually, that is factually inaccurate. Butch wanted to be paid like he was a top tier coach, which he wasn't. He also had designs on the NFL for years(He threw a tantrum when Jerry Jones didn't give him the Cowboys job). He also wanted Miami to adjust DOWNWARD, because the NCAA actually dropped their minimums from what they were before. Miami wasn't going to do that, because as anyone that actually attended the institution will tell you, we don't have a ton of "Jock Majors" for dumbasses to hide in. Even the easier majors do require you to take some college courses. It's amazing how many of our "Fans" get mad at the school for expecting student-athletes to be able to read and write at an acceptable level when they get to campus. This isn't Alabama, we actually give a **** about the kids that wear those uniforms.
Even your timeline is wrong. Randy Shannon was the guy who first started working with admissions to identify at risk kids and give them an actionable plan to gain admission. What's funny is that Frank Gore got in, same with Devin Hester, same with a lot of other guys that were borderline. The kids that didn't get in were in a lot of cases guys that couldn't get in **** near anywhere outside of places like WVU, Marshall and the dregs of the SEC. A guy like Ali Highsmith, who was on the cusp, but felt insulted that Miami wouldn't give him the benefit of the doubt are few and far between. Miami will not and SHOULD not ever just be an open door for any at risk kid that comes along, because we have a responsibility to ensure that these kids have a fair shot at graduating, provided they take advantage of the world class academic support on offer. For you to even be on the cusp, and not have a learning disability is more of an indictment of the kid than anything else. In a world where you can get a B for merely showing up to a lot of classes and making an honest attempt, you should be able to meet the laughably low standards for a student-athlete.
Out of curiosity, do you realize how low the actual standard is, compared to the rest of the student body? We aren't asking for our student-athletes to be practically indistinguishable from the typical undergraduate student with only a select few maybe receiving a break (IE Stanford, The military academies, Northwestern), we are just asking that they take a course load in HS that would prepare them to take college classes. In other words, taking(and passing) Algebra, multiple years of English, multiple science courses. Combine that with a SAT/ACT score that any relatively intelligent person should be able to reach and you have a fighting chance to get in. Miss me with the "Miami academics are killing us" argument, because it's lazy and flat out untrue.
