Our opinion: Playboy rankings show high standards not a detriment to students, shouldn’t be for football team

If you haven’t already heard, Playboy Magazine ranked the University of Miami the best party school in the country.

Many would assume that our academic standards would shrivel under the pressure of living up to this reputation, but the opposite is true. Our national academic ranking has drastically improved over the past 10 years. The only thing left to complain about is football (and basketball, the economy, parking…).

With academics on the rise, recruits must meet certain requirements in order to play for our team. The frustration surrounding the football squad is sometimes blamed on, among other things, this higher standard. Maybe if we slacked off a little bit, we would win another national championship.

This idea is clearly a fallacy. Our party ranking has consistently gone up with our academics, according to Playboy, so why the hell would this affect our success on the field? If we can get boozed up six nights a week and pull off As, we should be able to win games and get As.

The NFL Draft is next Saturday. For the first time in 14 long years, our glorious football program will not be sending anyone to the pros in the first 32 picks. It is sad that this streak will end, but as Matt Mullin says, there is a bright side. We get to keep our players and let them develop. Even Playboy said in their rankings, “In the future Miami’s number will rise in the sports category, thanks to Randy Shannon.” High expectations are an advantage, not a burden, and Miami’s football team will excel with them in the very near future.

So rejoice and relax! For Playboy has spoken, we shall continue to live up to our name, on the field, in the classrooms and especially in the bars (safely, of course).