The higher the financial stakes, the more...

The higher the financial stakes, the more accommodating Florida’s public universities tend to be in accepting athletes of marginal academic qualifications, according to a report prepared for the Board of Regents.

Once in school, the student-athletes with poor high school academic records usually also fare poorly in college classes and seldom earn diplomas, the study showed. It also indicated, however, that in some of the less financially important sports, the athletes performed in the classroom as well as, or better than, the average student.