Waiver Request Denied by NCAA

[Huskymaniac]

you're telling me that all of these kentucky one and doners complete their coursework in the spring semester knowing that they are leaving for the nba?

First of all, it is up to the school to report if the player was IN THEIR OPINION on track to graduate. For a freshman, there is a lot of wiggle room. Second, one needs to see the "classes" they took. Contrived correspondence courses could be quite easy to complete. The NCAA is a bunch of self-serving idiots. If they weren't, there would be tighter regulations on what would be considered acceptable courses and how many needed to be completed at various points along a player's eligibility.

 

[upstater]

I don't think that is exactly how it works, first of all. And just because a sports writer refers to someone as a UCONN graduate, doesn't mean he actually graduated...I think the issue is that you can't essentially just play basketball your final semester and never go to class, never take any exams never submit any papers becuase you are "training" for the NBA. That is what the NCAA is trying to get at. What seems to have happend in 2009, 2010 is that guys essentially played basketball, then when the season ended, they simply blew off any academic requirements and went to those various training facilities. Hence ended the semester with incomplete or failing grades. Throw in a couple of transfers who in essence did the same thing and you have a recipe for problems. That you come back later and make things up is a good thing for certain, but you really can't just be at college to play basketball is th epoint. You really do need to take classes at least somewhat seriously. I have no idea whether he ultimately graduated or not, but I recall a report on Stanley saying he hadn't passed a class for over a year when they went to the NCAA Final Four in 2009. He took inclompletes in Spring 2008, took a leave in the fall of2008 and returned for the Fall semester 2009, took a minimum class load and was blowing that off as well...now maybe he caught up and made up everything subsequently. But if that was the kind of crap that went on, it is no wonder that we were in trouble.

If you don't think that's how it works, then why does your scenario totally coincide with mine?

Kids leave school for all sorts of reasons, financial problems, deaths in the family, illness, etc. That they come back and finish is a great credit to them, and certainly more honorable than taking the minimum amount of courses in the spring (2) to remain eligible, especially if those courses are fluffy and froshy.

 

[upstater]

First of all, it is up to the school to report if the player was IN THEIR OPINION on track to graduate. For a freshman, there is a lot of wiggle room. Second, one needs to see the "classes" they took. Contrived correspondence courses could be quite easy to complete. The NCAA is a bunch of self-serving idiots. If they weren't, there would be tighter regulations on what would be considered acceptable courses and how many needed to be completed at various points along a player's eligibility.

There could never be tighter regulations because none of this is the NCAA's business. The standards are decided by each school for ALL students. You offer a range of courses, and the students decide. At a certain point, you certainly hope that students would find the proper adviser to guide them toward the major by fulfilling prerequisites. But if a student is certain he is only doing one or two years of college, then yes he can skate through doing practically anything and there really shouldn't be any NCAA input in the matter.

This is why I've always said three factors should come into play:

1. Raise admissions requirements.
2. Insist that students be allowed to take any major/course of study in the university (which is not all that common)
3. Let the students choose.