Correcting a common misconception about scholarships

[HuskyNan]

I have to admit, this slipped by me too

Student-Athlete Core Guarantees

Student-Athlete Core Guarantees

www.ncaa.org

 

[cancontent]

Yeah, I thought she was not up to date on scholarships. However, it doesn't negate that some players are encouraged to enter the portal at the end of a season by their coach, which kind of works against the point of the commitment in a way.

 

[BobbyJ]

Yeah, I thought she was not up to date on scholarships. However, it doesn't negate that some players are encouraged to enter the portal at the end of a season by their coach, which kind of works against the point of the commitment in a way.

Exactly. "We only want the best for you but are you sure you'll be happy at the end of the bench for the next 3 years?" 😉

 

[Bone Dog]

Exactly. "We only want the best for you but are you sure you'll be happy at the end of the bench for the next 3 years?" 😉

I don’t read it that way. Sure, some coaches may well try to freeze out a player to free up a scholarship. But I think it’s also the case that coaches look out for their players by helping them find a better program for their talents and commitment level. Geno speaks of this often.

I guess a lot of it has to do with how demanding a program is. The top programs ask a lot from their players, and I imagine some kids eventually go to the coach and say they didn’t know what they were signing up for. A good coach will help that kid find a better fit. But if the program isn’t as demanding, then it’s likely to be more about personalities — they do or do not like the coach or their teammates. In cases like that, players are likely to feel ill used.

Either way, the scholarship rules are what they are. And academic scholarships do not work this way. They have performance benchmarks and can be rescinded.

 

[Bigboote]

"Scholarships must be available to those student-athletes for ten years after they leave college."

Does this mean that a player can accept a scholarship, leave after a year and come back eight years later and say "I'm through with my glass-blowing sabbatical and I feel like coming back to school and you're on the hook for my expenses the next three years"? I think there's something missing. I went to the link above the tweet and there was nothing about it there, nor in any of the links on that page.

 

[Gael]

it doesn't negate that some players are encouraged to enter the portal at the end of a season by their coach, which kind of works against the point of the commitment in a way.

Entering the portal works both ways, and can be initiated by the player, the coach or by mutual agreement.

Many players come to the conclusion that they would be better off somewhere else, the coach may fully agree with that, and hence they reach a mutual understanding that the player will enter the portal at the end of the season. That player, if she chooses her next school/team wisely, can then benefit from the guaranteed scholarship at that next institution and presumably have a more productive basketball career. Meanwhile, that frees up a scholarship for someone else at the original school.

Hence, because of the current scholarship commitment rules, such mutual understanding portal transfers can often be win-win.

 

[cancontent]

I don’t read it that way. Sure, some coaches may well try to freeze out a player to free up a scholarship. But I think it’s also the case that coaches look out for their players by helping them find a better program for their talents and commitment level. Geno speaks of this often.

I guess a lot of it has to do with how demanding a program is. The top programs ask a lot from their players, and I imagine some kids eventually go to the coach and say they didn’t know what they were signing up for. A good coach will help that kid find a better fit. But if the program isn’t as demanding, then it’s likely to be more about personalities — they do or do not like the coach or their teammates. In cases like that, players are likely to feel ill used.

Either way, the scholarship rules are what they are. And academic scholarships do not work this way. They have performance benchmarks and can be rescinded.

I can definitely see a bit of that as well, however we don't always take the grey area of these scholarships into consideration when discussing transfers, etc. Nothing is clear cut regardless of the rules.

 

[HuskyNan]

"Scholarships must be available to those student-athletes for ten years after they leave college."

Does this mean that a player can accept a scholarship, leave after a year and come back eight years later and say "I'm through with my glass-blowing sabbatical and I feel like coming back to school and you're on the hook for my expenses the next three years"? I think there's something missing. I went to the link above the tweet and there was nothing about it there, nor in any of the links on that page.

It means players that leave without graduating can complete their college degree up to 10 years after leaving. Diana Taurasi finished her degree after her senior year, for example. Of course, Geno has a rule that departing players can’t return to campus until they get their degrees so there’s some incentive

 

[Jonathan14]

It means players that leave without graduating can complete their college degree up to 10 years after leaving. Diana Taurasi finished her degree after her senior year, for example. Of course, Geno has a rule that departing players can’t return to campus until they get their degrees so there’s some incentive

This makes me think about Megan Walker, who started at UConn in 2017 and left at the end of the 2019–2020 season to pursue her professional career. As far as I know, she has not yet completed her UConn degree, but under this rule, she still has time to do so while on scholarship. I hope she does, as I believe it would also qualify her for the Huskies of Honor since she was a First-Team AP and USBWA All-American in 2020. I believe all of UConn's other First-Team All-Americans are either "on the wall" or still in school (i.e., Sarah and Azzi).