Football and grades

You may have seen the story, since it's being widely reported, about a new study by three University of Oregon economists finding a decline in grades, especially among male students, when the school's football team is doing well. You can get the full study ($5) here.

Two things about the article: first, according to the NY Times, the study, while large, looked only at Oregon. Second, the article reports that the study found a correlation, though the comment in the article by the University of Oregon spokesman refers to causation. They're not the same thing. But the study points to yet another manifestation of the negative effects of big-time college sports. If you haven't read it already, read Taylor Branch's careful and thorough article in The Atlantic, "The Shame of College Sports."