On a clear day it can take forever

Don't believe me? Just try to interview someone with the Clearinghouse, the company that the NCAA hires to determine if incoming freshmen are academically eligible.

"Questions about the Clearinghouse are generally handled by our public and media relations staff," Jennifer Kearns, associate director of public and media relations for the NCAA, wrote in response to an e-mail from the News Sentinel requesting an interview with a Clearinghouse representative.

Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer hasn't had much better luck with the Clearinghouse than I have this week. Fulmer received word Wednesday that lineman Cody Pope, athlete Stephaun Raines and linebacker/defensive lineman Gerald Williams were deemed ineligible by the Iowa City-based company that was founded in 1994.

Williams, who is from Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., was told "no" for the second time. He spent a year at home in South Florida studying for the ACT. When he improved his score from an 18 to a 23, it was red-flagged by the Clearinghouse.

Fulmer wasn't very excited to be asked about the subject Wednesday.

"Don't get me started on the Clearinghouse, OK?" Fulmer said. "That's not one of my favorite subjects."

But Coach, this is for my column for Friday.

"They're supposed to be player-friendly," Fulmer said. "It's not always the right answer that comes out of there, in my opinion."

Can I ask you a few more questions about the Clearinghouse?

"It's not a good day to ask me," Fulmer said.

But Coach, this seems like a very good time to get your frank and honest opinion on an organization that continually seems to frustrate coaches. And did I mention my column runs on Friday?

"It's very important that we have checks and balances," Fulmer said. "The best thing that's happened, I think, to college football is the Clearinghouse. Everybody has to go through the same process in qualifying. It used to be individual institutions that made those decisions."

But what went wrong? It wasn't just the decisions that must have infuriated Fulmer. It also had to be the timing.

Had Pope, Raines and Williams been declared eligible, they likely would have had no effect on the 2006 season. It was simply too late.

"We ask prospective student-athletes to register with the Clearinghouse after their junior year in high school, and when that happens ... we are pleased with the timeliness of the Clearinghouse's work," Kearns said. "Issues arise when prospective student-athletes don't start the process early enough, or they, their parents or their guidance counselors, don't take the time to educate themselves on what the requirements are."

But what about the student who struggles with a college entrance exam? He retakes it several times, finally improves his score and has to wait for the Clearinghouse. His application wasn't complete until the final score was sent in.

"The issue is that it takes so much time to get through the process," Fulmer said. "They need more people, obviously. So many times it just depends on circumstances and how things are presented.

"It's a challenging process."

The last time I checked, the NCAA is doing quite well financially. Why can't it hire more people, especially during the predictably busy spring and summer months?

"Staffs are added to the Clearinghouse in the summer to address the busy season," Kearns said.

But how many? Kearns didn't know. Whatever the number, it isn't enough. How long does it take to look at a transcript and look at a college entrance-exam score?

I realize there can be special circumstances but you constantly hear about late decisions affecting schools across the country.

"More than 150,000 student-athletes apply to the Clearinghouse each year," Kearns said. "The Clearinghouse staff works to process each application as timely and thoroughly as possible."

I empathize with Williams. What does he do now after a summer of believing he had done enough to be eligible?

Maybe he can call the Clearinghouse and talk to someone about his case.

Or maybe the best he can do is talk to the NCAA's public-relations department.

Dave Hooker can be reached at hookerd@knews.com.