Amato rips Akron and the MAC

[UK Peregrine]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 496845.htm

Amato takes aim at Akron's non-qualifiers
Pack still sore after loss to non-BCS institution

KEN TYSIAC
[email protected]

RALEIGH - N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato defended his program and took a swipe at Akron on Monday when a reporter asked whether the Wolfpack should lose at home to Akron.

Akron, a member of the Mid-American Conference, defeated N.C. State 20-17 on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. The MAC, unlike the ACC (to which N.C. State belongs), does not have an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series for its champion.

Amato called attention to the disparity in the conferences' admissions policies.

"They're in a conference that allows non-qualifiers in school," Amato said during his weekly news conference. "Non-qualifiers. Do y'all need to look that one up to write your stories?

" ... Do you know what kind of players non-qualifiers are, usually? They're inversely proportional to what their grade-point average is. They can make a big difference."

The ACC does not allow NCAA non-qualifiers to enroll in its member schools.

Akron athletics director Mack Rhoades declined to comment. An Akron spokeswoman reported three players on Akron's roster Saturday entered school as non-qualifiers, and one completed all academic work necessary to earn an additional year of eligibility.

MAC Commissioner Rick Chryst wouldn't address Amato's comments but said the MAC leads Division I-A conferences with 58 percent (seven of 12) of its public institutions' football programs posting a graduation success rate (GSR) of at least 70 percent in the most recent statistics. Akron's GSR is 60 percent. N.C. State's is 50 percent.

Amato also defended his record, which stands at 47-29 in his seventh season as coach. His nonconference record is 24-4, and the Akron loss was his first to an opponent from a non-BCS conference.

"We've won a lot of games around here," Amato said. "Some people need to be reminded of that."

Amato was asked about the disparity in facilities between Akron and N.C. State, which recently completed a renovation that cost about $90 million at Carter-Finley Stadium. Akron's Rubber Bowl seats 31,000; Carter-Finley's capacity is listed at 57,082.

"We just got the facilities," Amato said. "These facilities just got built. They've not been here for 20 years. We've won a lot of games here. ... Maybe a lot of teams will lose to Akron before the season is out. Let's let the season play out and ask me that same question at the end of the year."

[UK Peregrine]

Oh by the way, N.C. State has become the ACC leader in non-qualifiers since coach Chuck Amato's arrival in 2000. He's lost six of the 20 signees N.C. State announced on signing day this year alone. It sounds to me as though he has consistently recruited kids teetering on non-qualifier status.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

It's about time somebody stepped up and championed the poor, helpless BcS schools that are at such a competitive disadvantage. I mean, how are these academic powerhouses like N.C. State supposed to compete with Akron's roster full of (3) idiots that are just there to play football.

I say thank you, Coach Amato. You have finally brought to light this terrible injustice. We should all strive to be a little bit more like Chuck Amato.

[TG1996]

What a dickhead.

Although the way he's grabbing for straws after a loss, I bet he'd fit in well around this place!

[NY-BG-FAN]

Do we really always have to make excuses every time a MAC team beats a BCS conference team? It seems like the MAC gets it's yearly due at the beginning of the season for improving as a league, and closing the "mid-major" gap. Yet when a MAC team pulls of one of these "upsets" (because N.C. State is such a footbal powerhouse, and oh, Akron didn't win a conference championship last year or anything) we all have to be shocked and justify it for the BCS team. It just sounds like the grapes are a little sour in Raleigh.

News flash Chuck: just because you beat Florida State a couple times amidst underacheing year in and year out despite a roster rife with NFL first day draft picks, doesn't make you above Akron. You got outcoached, and your team got outplayed. Deal with it.

[San Diego Falcon]

Wow. That ranks 2nd on my all-time list of dickhead coach comments. It's ironic that Dakich's comments that I just read today on the BB forum take up the top spot.

Under Amato's theory, the MAC should have six or seven teams in the top 25 given how the rules favor us so much....

[Schadenfreude]

[transfer2BGSU]

From 2000-06, here are the numbers of ACC football signees who were not eligible to play for academic reasons during the first year after their signings:

1. N.C. State (26),
2. Clemson (21)
3t. Florida State (19), Miami (19), Virginia Tech (19)
6. Virginia (15),
7. North Carolina (13),
8. Maryland (10),
9. Boston College (2),
10t. Georgia Tech (1), Wake Forest (1),
12. Duke (0).

http://tinyurl.com/j7jj7

[1987alum]

Yeah, no kidding. Here's a cookie, Amato.

[BGFalconfromCincy]

From 2000-06, here are the numbers of ACC football signees who were not eligible to play for academic reasons during the first year after their signings:

1. N.C. State (26),
2. Clemson (21)
3t. Florida State (19), Miami (19), Virginia Tech (19)
6. Virginia (15),
7. North Carolina (13),
8. Maryland (10),
9. Boston College (2),
10t. Georgia Tech (1), Wake Forest (1),
12. Duke (0).

http://tinyurl.com/j7jj7

so thats why Miami, FSU, and VT are good and Duke sucks

[UK Peregrine]

Terry Pluto's response to Amato in the Akron Beacon Journal