It is the ugly side — one of the ugly sides anyway — of intercollegiate athletics.
In the fine print of every NCAA scholarship is a notation that a grant-in-aid is a one-year contract that is renewable or nonrenewable based on the whim of the school that issues it.
This comes to mind with the news that three players are not returning to the Kentucky basketball team for the upcoming season. Those players — A.J. Stewart, Jared Carter and Donald Williams — did not figure into the Big Blue plans with the transition from Billy Gillispie to John Calipari as coach.
Clearly, a binge and purge of the Kentucky roster is in progress. Out with the old, in with the new.
Continue reading at The Tennessean.
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Comments » 24
golfballs03 writes:
Calipari is a grease ball
kingwoodtx_vol writes:
But it really isn't a four year committment by the athlete either. They can go pro (or attempt to), they can transfer (yes, they sit out a year to go to another Div 1 school), or they can quit playing (either for personal, health or ability reasons). Do you ever see a student repay the scholarship when they leave before eligibility is up?
I see nothing wrong with the system. Kids get a free education as long as they are on scholarship. If they lose the scholarship for whatever reason, they are no different than any other student.
dwolfcreek#397971 writes:
HAROLD FORD TAUGHT CALIPARI ALL HE KNOWS .
montanavolfan writes:
I agree.
montanavolfan writes:
The education isn't free, they work darn hard for it.
BigOrangeJeff writes:
In almost all cases, didn't CLK sit down with the kid, explain the situation, and let the kid make his own decision? In some cases, the kids that left said that Kiff was helping them find new schools.
A far cry from a blanket press release stating that "the following players will not be on scholarship next season."
londonvol writes:
Totally agree!!!!!
golfballs03 writes:
I was talking about his hair
IdahoVol writes:
If these coaches are worth the huge dollars they are getting paid, shouldn't they be able to coach the kids they inherit rather than dumping them before they even spend time on the court (or field) with them? If a kid is at UK, UT or any other major university, someone must have seen some talent to offer a scholarship in the first place.
I know the argument that a coach is under a lot of pressure to win right away. OK then, COACH the players you have and earn your millions! If a coach is good, he can adjust his style some while also teaching the kids to adjust as well.
IndianOutlaw writes:
Mr. Brand is dying of cancer I would leave him out of it.
gbeejr#1354500 writes:
Not true. For the most part Lane coached and watched our players practice and perform and in the process discussed certain players future. For different reasons some players and the coaches felt it best for some to leave. But at least the players had a chance. Cal, on the other hand pulls scholly's from current student athletes without the benefit of practices and scrimmages to make room for his "ballers". And how deceptive you are, "Cal needed room under the Title IX reduction in scholarships." Cal isn't a grease ball, he's slime.
DHW writes:
Supporting the hypothesis....
murrayvol writes:
Sadly, you are correct. Myles Brand is battling pancreatic cancer and probably won't be fixing much before his ticket is punched.
murrayvol writes:
All D-1 coaches are under pressure. At Kentucky it's a whole other level.
murrayvol writes:
Sorry Outlaw. Posted similar response before reading thread.
back2backchamps writes:
Please quit trying to defend the guy that gets paid to wear "your" colors. When we all admit that the hired guns (Meyer, Kiffin, Calapari, Pearl, etc.) are hired to win games, not worry about keeping the athletes happy, we could get past a lot of the stupid mud-slinging. If "our coach" does it, he did it the "right way"...but when another coach does it, he is a slimeball.
BTW...The scholarship rules are set up by the schools. Who do you think they are going to favor? Just askin...
shoalcreekvol writes:
The NCAA does let kids transfer, just not to a competing team in the same classification. To allow them to transfer anywhere anytime would be chaos.
As stated earlier, the kids can leave the school anytime they want to, and the school can leave the kid any time too.
Colliervol writes:
Life in Memphis my friend. Life in Memphis. You could have added Herenton or any number of Memphis politicos to that statement.
As far as these kids go, I told you right after the hire that there wouldn't be a problem with scholarship numbers once Cal got there. "Unsightly Residue"? That should be the title of Cal's autobiography when he gets around to writing it. He may get results but it ain't going to be pretty. Hope the KY fans have a strong stomach and selective smell because they are going to need it.
Colliervol writes:
No question about your statement about hired guns and the need to win. That's the name of the game now--whatever it takes. Running off players when a new coach takes over is commonplace and there's no big surprise that it happened at KY or UT.
But there is one difference with Calipari and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that he rides a very fine line. His track record is pretty well known. Sure he wins a lot but there is a distinct odor that comes from it. Sort of like the outhouse door on a tuna boat.
back2backchamps writes:
long_vol,
That is the most absurd comment I have ever heard regarding players. Did you even know that until a couple of years ago that D1 baseball players could transfer without sitting out a year? Most baseball coaches and fans hated the rule. If you think fans accuse each others schools of recruiting dirty now, imagine Eric Berry transferring to Bama or UF for this season to have a better shot at winning a SEC title. Chaos isn't a strong enough word, imo.
back2backchamps writes:
I agree that the rules are set up for the schools. I could even understand letting players transfer when coaches leave without having to sit out, providing they can't follow the coach. I think your view might change if you had an All-SEC QB transfer to Bama because he decided that he liked their O-line better for the next year. But it aint never gonna happen anyway...
agarn59 writes:
Totally agree.
Colliervol writes:
Cat, I just want to know one thing. Regarding my message from 3:43 pm, do you have that clothes pin ready for your nose? From the revelations coming from Memphis today, you're going to need it. Now I'm wondering just how Cousins, Wall and Bledsoe all ended up in Lexington so quickly. Hmmmm.
Seriously, you appear to be a good fan and I hope you guys haven't bitten off a big chunk of limberger cheese here. If they are looking at Memphis, you can bet your tail they'll follow him to Lexington.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Agree completely. This is just one instance that shows the NCAA is run for the benefit of the institutions, not the athletes. Coaches, many of whom are already rich, can break multi-year contracts virtually at will and go to work immediately for fantastic raises while athletes who are "fired" by incoming coaches are hung out to dry.
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