BOISE, Idaho — Boise State University officials are offended at a USA Today story suggesting they and other universities steer athletes into easy classes and majors. They say the report hurts the university's work to present itself as a serious academic institution that wants to attract research.

The report does "not fairly and accurately reflect the facts and is not a good reflection on the university," said Boise State President Bob Kustra.

USA Today reported in its Wednesday edition that 48 percent of junior and senior players on the 2007 Boise State football team majored in communications. Similar clusters are found at other schools, the newspaper reported.

The story was part of an investigation of 142 Division I schools that concluded that toughening academic requirements for athletes has helped create an environment in which athletes are more likely to graduate than other students — but also "more likely to be clustered in programs without the academic demands most students face."

The story quoted former Boise State safety Marty Tadman saying: "You hear which majors, and which classes, are the easiest and you take them. You're going to school so you can stay in sports. You're not going for a degree. ... It's a joke."

Tadman said Wednesday that his comments were "misconstrued" and he was "not saying Boise State is a joke."

University officials spent much of Wednesday defending how athletes choose majors and explaining that the school's communications classes aren't academically anemic.

Gabe Rosenvall, who oversees academic counseling for 400 Boise State athletes, said no one has ever even hinted to him that he should try to direct students into any particular program.

"The implication that somehow we are trying to circumvent the system . .. is kind of offensive," Rosenvall said.

Many athletes choose communications as a major because it has one of the most flexible class offerings on campus, BSU officials say.

Communications is one of eight majors at BSU that offer flexible instruction hours, including nights and weekends. The others include criminal justice, information technology management, accountancy and applied science.

Flexibility gives athletes time to fit in their academics and athletic requirements, Rosenvall said.

"My whole thing is time. Your school is revolving around your sports rather than the opposite way around," Tadman told the Idaho Statesman. "You can't take every class you want to because you have a set schedule."

Many football players aren't in communications.

Sophomore linebacker Derrell Acrey is a psychology major. He wants to become a doctor but couldn't major in pre-med because the lab schedule conflicts with his football schedule.

"It's a good major," Acrey said. "It has a lot of psych classes that you need to get into med school. It allows me to take my science classes in the offseason."

Often students enroll in classes and majors because their friends do, school officials say. Rosenvall calls it "self advising." BSU's communications major isn't an easy set of courses, said Sona Andrews, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

One measure is the grades professors hand out. In spring 2008, 36 percent of students who took communications classes earned an A.

The percentage was higher in other disciplines, including chemistry (45 percent) English (40 percent) and Basque (47 percent).

No matter what classes students take, BSU football coach Chris Petersen thinks any BSU degree is honorable.

"Guys are working their tails off around here to get degrees," Petersen said. "I go over to the study halls, I go into our office, and I see those guys on the computers, writing papers and working very hard to get a degree that's very important to those guys."

Reporters Chadd Cripe and Brian Murphy contributed to this report.