Great use of FOI in college athletics coverage

The eligibility issues surrounding prized recruit MarQueis Gray typify the academic question marks associated with the first full recruiting class of Gophers football coach Tim Brewster, according to data obtained by the Star Tribune.

Gray was the centerpiece of a group of 31 February signees that was ranked among the nation's top 20 by several recruiting services. But high-ranking university officials admit it was also a class filled with academic concerns.

The Star Tribune requested college entrance scores for incoming freshman football players from every Big Ten school last summer under the nation's Freedom of Information Act.

Minnesota's freshman class had the lowest scores among the eight Big Ten programs that complied with the request, and the scores were significantly lower than for the recruiting classes in the final years of Glen Mason, who coached the Gophers from 1997 to 2006.

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