Trap Dooring

[Darrell McPhaul]

Who all has issues with colleges using the trap door on underperforming scholarship athletes?

 

[texasfight4468]

No problem with it. Like any business arrangement, you don't perform contract is canceled

 

[M K]

I have a big issue with it, unless it is based on breaking the law. These kids are counting on that scholarship to get an education. It's not their fault if they work hard and just aren't good enough to beat out the guys in front of them.

 

[Brasky]

blurred line for me. Cut guys who have horrible attitudes and/or don't put the work in. Never pull a scholly from a guy who gives it his best but just sucks.

 

[Clan Fraser]

IMO, it's not just about athetics, but education as well. They are student athletes, after all. Not a big fan of dropping a scholarship due to substandard performance on the filed, or injury. There should alternatives available to the student, especially at big money schools like Texas.

 

[NLeininger]

If the player in question is busting his ass in practice and in the classroom, trap door'ing him is deplorable. It's not his fault the coaches evaluated him badly.

 

[JimR]

scholarships are for one year, not four, I think. the reason for allowing renewal or not gives each school the ability to decide its grounds for nonrenewal. I do not believe there is any moral issue here.

 

[Randolph Duke]

I have issues with it if there isn't mentoring first on the part of the coaches and if the kid is honestly giving everything he has to offer.

If we have a kid who busts his ass and runs a 4.6 40, I don't want him trap doored for a kid that runs a 4.4 phoning it in. I don't have a problem letting go of a kid who didn't realize just what he was going to have to commit to when he signed and isn't putting in the time, either in training or in the classroom.

College is about finding which direction you want to take your life and committing to put in the effort to make it happen. Whether you are a business major or an athlete, the university (rightfully so) will show you the door. That's life.

If the staff evaluates the kid's potential and offers and the kid busts his ass but doesn't develop, its wrong to make the kid pay for the staff's mistake.

 

[PTA]

These kids are counting on that scholarship to get an education.

And they possibly took a scholarship from someone else in order to get it.

if they work hard and just aren't good enough to beat out the guys in front of them.

On this part I agree with you. The catch is, IMHO, is their production on the practice field. Kinda like Brasky says.

It is my understanding that it is sorta in place already. Readying other boards that players see the writing on the wall re: playing time due to their effort (or lack there of) and it's suggested they hit the road during the spring.

 

[LlanoDog]

An Athletic and an Academic should be the same. If you don’t perform you lose your scholarship

 

[txscallywag]

I'm kind of torn in between here. The student is given a scholarship based on his/her athletic abilities after all. However, in the event that the athlete does not hold up their end, there should be other avenues for the student to continue their education. As long as they're also meeting their educational requirements of course.

 

[BevoBlake]

Simply put, if a kid shows up and is giving his best effort, it's immoral to pull that scholarship regardless of performance. You evaluated him, you decided he was worth the scholarship, so you have to man up and honor that. If a kid is slacking off and has a bad attitude, he's not honoring his end of the scholarship and should be eligible for removal from the program and/or school.

 

[Capn Hook]

Definitely not a black and white issue. Too many gray areas to make a simple yes/no decision.

 

[Baghorn]

No problem with it. Like any business arrangement, you don't perform contract is canceled

This....if you're on an academic scholarship and don't make your grades you get trapdoored too. It's called accountability. We need a lot more of it.

 

[Baghorn]

scholarships are for one year, not four, I think. the reason for allowing renewal or not gives each school the ability to decide its grounds for nonrenewal. I do not believe there is any moral issue here.

Good post Jim

 

[BBQ time]

Depends:

Did the coaching staff flat out miss on evaluating a player? That's on the coaches. The player should be encouraged to transfer for playing time. Coaches should actively search for a transfer school.

If the kid is lazy, a malcontent, punk, etc., then bye bye. We tried to mentor you and help, but you refused.

 

[BBQ time]

It's interesting that this topic is relevant, based on who might be accepting the coaching position. Love to hear a recording of this topic being discussed during the interview.

 

[orangeflow]

I was looking at the numbers of scholorships given over the years by UT from a poster on line and it looked like in many cases 50% or more of a class fell by the wayside on their own. This was usually by them giving up football, transfers, injury, grades, medical, attitude etc. I don't see how the "Trap Door" policy would really be a hard issue if Saban or Fisher came on board. Just an observation.

 

[hooked636905]

If you allow coaches to pull scholarships from players they perceive as underperforming, then there really is no accountability on behalf of the coaches in terms of evaluations. If Player A is recruited in year 1 and sucks, you can't just dump him in year 2 to go get another player.

I believe scholarships should remain at 1 year commitments, however, the "protocol" for renewing scholarships should evolve around a checklist. If the player has been in legal trouble, had academic issues, or other personal conduct/behavior issues, then yes, the institution should be allowed to not renew the scholarship.

But if the player was just a bad evaluation or sustained an injury and wasn't the same player afterwards, then the school needs to be held accountable for that evaluation and should thus honor the scholarship outside of the player electing to transfer on their own accord. There will be gray areas such as our current situation where the current player may not fit the new coaches system. I still feel like the coach can't just do a Calipari and get rid of all the student athletes on the roster to bring in their own. It is called "coaching" afterall and requires some sort of development process by the coach. Sometimes you have to work with the talent given to you.