The girls sure showed the boys how the game is played at the University of Connecticut. On the court, both the men's and women's basketball teams captured their respective NCAA titles. But off court, the percentage of Lady Huskies who get UConn degrees is 67% compared with 27% for the men.

The gender gap isn't the worst of it. For years the excitement of March Madness has been offset by the glaring scandal it illuminates: the way universities make millions off athletes, notably black male basketball players, whom they fail to educate. Worse still, U.S. Department of Education rules help schools hide this failure behind an asterisk. Under the rules, if fewer than three African-American players graduate, rather than listing the actual black graduation rate the school notes this unpleasant reality with an asterisk.

UConn is rightly proud of junior Emeka Okafor. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Mr. Okafor was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. He boasts a 3.8 grade point average in finance and plans to graduate in three years. But he plays for a team where barely a quarter end up with degrees, a figure that should be an embarrassment for any academic institution even allowing for transfers and players who turn pro.

UConn's basketball team, moreover, is by no stretch the worst here. NCAA president Myles Brand says that four teams in the tournament had overall rates of zero. As he puts it, the federal rule means "the worst offenders can remain in the shadows."

The good news is that the NCAA is in the midst of a comprehensive effort to start holding the schools themselves as well as individual athletes accountable -- starting with the publication of its own, more accurate information on graduation rates. We can quibble about what measures and disincentives the NCAA should be using. But surely we can all agree that the goal should be more Okafors and fewer asterisks.