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applicants initially denied admission to the University of Texas enrolled, thanks to a backdoor program for the wealthy and politically connected administered by former president Bill Powers. More than 200 of those applicants were admitted despite have their applications cancelled by the Admissions Office. The total is more than 10 times the 73 applicants widely reported from an investigation paid for by the university and conducted by Kroll Associates. Kroll withheld the full findings from its 107-page final report. Watchdog.org produced the final number by reassembling a key Kroll database tracking “holds,” or applicants rejected by the admissions office but granted favored status by Powers’ office from 2009 to 2014. Kroll arrived at its published tally by establishing an arbitrary cutoff point for grades and SAT scores that had nothing to do with finding the total number of admissions rejections Powers overrode, which was the original purpose of the investigation. The university kept the numbers in the database secret from the public and from regents who have asked to review the Kroll investigation records. “The reach of this scandal is breathtaking,” said Maribeth Vander Weele, one of the investigators in a similar admissions scandal at the University of Illinois. “The collapse of ethics in two major institutions – the Law School and the Legislature – will be felt for years to come.” read more: http://watchdog.org/228880/kroll-powers-breathtaking

Read more: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/7/30/5951147/american-aac-football-conference-power-playoff

Texas 31, North Texas 14: Charlie Strong's debut game is up and down with the Longhorn defense taking a shutout into the fourth quarter but with the offense struggling to pull away from North Texas. Ultimately, UT is never really threatened but has plenty of room to grow after Week 1. Other prediction of note: Baylor 63, SMU 42: Baylor's offense does what we've come to expect from Baylor's offense, but the Bears defense and secondary in particular struggle in the season opener against the Mustangs. BU quarterback Bryce Petty, once again making things look easier than they are, passes 400-plus yards and four touchdowns including two to Antwan Goodley as SMU never really has a hope of outscoring Art Briles' crew despite having plenty of success on offense. read more: http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/86567/predicting-the-2014-season-week-1

AUSTIN, Texas — If colleges were automobiles, the University of Texas at Austin would be a Cadillac: a famous brand, a powerful engine of research and teaching, handsome in appearance. Even the price is comparable: Like one of the luxury car's models, in-state tuition for a four-year degree runs about $40,000. But in an era of budget-cutting and soaring tuition, is there still a place for "Cadillacs" — elite, public research institutions like Texas, Michigan, California-Berkeley and Virginia that try to compete with the world's best? Or should the focus be on more affordable and efficient options, like the old Chevrolet Bel Air? It's the central question in a pointed clash of cultures in higher education. And when Gene Powell — the former UT football player and San Antonio real estate developer who chairs the Texas board of regents — raised it with precisely that automotive comparison, reaction was swift and angry. Convinced the state board was hell-bent on turning their beloved "university of the first class" required by the Texas constitution into a downmarket trade school, faculty, students and alumni have rallied behind campus president Bill Powers in protest. Powell insists he wants UT-Austin to be great — but also accessible, and for students to have options. Republican Gov. Rick Perry and many of the reform-minded regents he's appointed have made clear they think UT's quest for global prestige has produced too much ivory-tower research, and too little focus on teaching and keeping college affordable for Texans. In Perry's push for accountability and productivity, many here see something nefarious: a campaign, rooted in a longstanding anti-intellectual strain of Texas politics, to gut a university that shouldn't have to apologize for being "elite." "I just don't understand why they want to dumb down a public institution of this magnitude," said Machree Gibson, chairman of the Texas Exes, UT's powerful and independent 99,000 member alumni society, which has pushed back. With Perry due to appoint three new regents this month, the fight is set to flare up again. But the debate is bigger even than Texas. Like-minded governors in Florida, Wisconsin and elsewhere are watching how Perry and his allies fare. Unusually, it's political conservatives who are the radical reformers, and their opponents the ones digging in to resist upending well-established institutions. Along the way, career casualties are piling up. Over the last 18 months, presidents of 11 of the 35 leading public research universities have quit or been fired. That doesn't include the University of Virginia, where a reform-minded board fired President Teresa Sullivan, only to reinstate her two weeks later after a faculty revolt. Read more: http://www.wral.com/texas-fight-highlights-higher-ed-culture-clash/12059311/