Granted, the academic requirements are different, and Notre Dame's graduation rate, at 97%, is in a class by itself among football powers. However, as one example only, Alabama's latest APR and graduation rates were higher than all but one Pac-12 school's (Stanford's), and equal to or better than all but three to four (depending on which measure) Big 10 programs'.
My point is not that Alabama is an academic powerhouse, but rather that, objectively, the NCAA data indicate no clear inverse correlation at Alabama (or overall) between academics and football success.
