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Show APKIl 2000 I i 1 1 "I 11 5S I - HYP laos Eiig GPA mm U T ADAM ClARK t s hard to believe at times, but I am finally graduating from BYU. My hard work and perseverance have paid off. The fact that I got into BYU, decided on a double major, and am graduating is still amazing to me. Since I am leaving with two BS degrees, you'd think I should know twice as much as some. Well, I doubt that is the case. However, there is one subject in which I have excelled my five years in college: BYU Sports. I consider myself to be graduating with a PhD in BYU Sports. I have avidly followed BYU Sports and am known commonly as "Superfan." I now give my parting words of wisdom so all of you can understand the most important things I have learned about sports while at BYU. Remember back in high school when you had to show your parents your report card? You would quickly unfold it or slip it out of the manila envelope just fast enough to carefully display the two A's you had received. Of course, mom or dad never allowed for such and would quickly snatch the report card and reveal the rest of your grades ... a B, two Cs and a D or two. They would then become a major weather storm and rain on your ;iGF spoils fill parading life until you received your next report card. You always wondered why they seemed so focused on the Cs and Ds. I mean, didn't they see the two A's? Mom would start ranting on about some vague thing a CPA. Whatever, like that mattered to anyone, right? Well, some of us took Mom's lecture to heart and got accepted to BYU. The rest of you wound up at Utah (and still live with your moms). Funny thing is, you still don't get it. You see, Utah fans are quick to whip out their sports report card just enough to show you the few A's they got during the year. But they are never willing to show you the whole report card. Let's play like the parents here and examine the whole thing, and to be fair, we'll compare it to BYU's report card. I did a little research on BYU vs. U of U sports. I will admit, Utah has a couple of strengths. Their women's gymnastics team has many national championships under its belt. Their women's basketball team has a 42-25 advantage over BYU and their football team has a 45-26-4 advantage over BYU. However, in no other sport does Utah have an advantage. In fact, in most sports, BYU has dominated Utah. Take women's soccer, for example. Since BYU's entrance into the NCAA, the Cougar women have z '.Ml- V'tat A beat Utah every time they have played. That's a 6-0 record in favor of BYU. Coaches for BYU's swimming and diving teams (both men and women) reported that BYU has not lost to Utah once in the past 1 9 years. Baseball? BYU holds a 169-76-1 advantage. Women's volleyball has a 59-6 advantage over Utah. Cougar track and field has also dominated the Utes. Cross-country is no different. Utah's men's cross-country has finished ahead of BYU only twice since 1963 and that was in 1963 and 1966. BYU women's cross-country has won the conference title every year since 1990 and has finished in the nation's top 5 the past four years, including two national championships. BYU golf has also dominated Utah. The Utes have beaten BYU golfers only once since 1 978 and that was in 1988. I could go on an on, sport after sport, telling the same story of Cougar dominance. Even in basketball and football Utah has nothing to stand on. BYU and Utah have an even 114-114 series record in basketball, with BYU most recently beating Utah in the conference tournament. In football, BYU has been to more major bowls than Utah and has a national championship. Utah can usually only hope to be ranked and go to a major bowl game. Even in the club sports BYU dominates. Racquetball, men's soccer, lacrosse, and rugby all are better than Utah's teams. Although Utah doesn't have a men's volleyball team, a wrestling team, or a men's gymnastics team, BYU does, and the Cougars consistently perform in the top 25 in these sports. Now, Utah fans may claim that this is all irrelevant They may wonder why I seem to focus on the Cs and Ds. It's called the Sears Director's Cup, and ifs the CP. A. of college sports. The Sears Cup is an award given every year to the school with the most successful athletics program. Each NCAA sport at a university can earn points for the school based on its finish nationally. The points are totaled and the university with the most points wins. How have BYU and Utah fared? In the past seven years, BYU has been in the top 25 five times, finished as high as No. 12 last year and is currently ranked No. 9. Utah has broken into the top 50 only once at No. 37. They are currently ranked No. 64. Even Boise State consistently outranks Utah in the Sears Director's Cup. " So, while Utah has a couple of good grades, its sports CPA is definitely lacking. If you were to compare BYU and Utah's sport GPAs to academic GPAs, BYU could get into almost any school it wanted and qualify for scholarships, while Utah could get into the local community college and pay its way through with loans. So I ask you Utah fans, what is that vague thing called GPA., and is it really that important? And I ask BYU fans, why do we give Utah so much time and attention? What is that vague thing called the U of U anyway, and is it really that important? 33I111 UTAH COUNTY'S SOURCE FOR Hots ' Golf & T-shirts Jocets Logo Design Custom Illustration SUMS 'Ps obout our letfzfmons Cbb We work with Schools. Businesses. Clubs and Organizations No Job is Too Small or Too Large Business Cards Brochures flyers EMBROIDERY DIGITIZING SCREEN PRINTING GRAPHIC DESIGN 2244919 1750 S. State Street Orem f ' N E A R Theatres At the ProvoTowne Centre l200Towne Centre Blvd. TONIGHT... 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