Recruits in the Weight Room

[Kung Wu]

BTW, why would a kid ever do that? It makes no sense. If you arent eligible, dont enroll in college and your clock wont start.

[pinstripers]

I know, but that is what Mack did.

[Dan]

Right but the five to play four still applies. You just burned your first year of elegibility and didnt redshirt with a schollie, correct? I dont see what a degree would have to do with anything?

The point is that he did not meet eligibility requirements to start playing ball right away. Getting a degree proves that you did the work necessary to earn your degree and they reward you by giving you the "burned" year back. I have no idea if this rule is still in place but it is the one that Mack used to play at WSU.

[pogo]

BTW, why would a kid ever do that? It makes no sense. If you arent eligible, dont enroll in college and your clock wont start.

I thought the clock started when you graduate from High School unless you have military service or a religious mission.

[Dan]

The clock starts when you enroll in college. That's why you sometimes see 28 years olds playing college football after an unsuccessful pro baseball career right out of high school.

[Kung Wu]

I thought the clock started when you graduate from High School unless you have military service or a religious mission.

No sir, when you first enroll in college. So for example, @DOFO, could still theoretically play for the men's basketball team.

[Kung Wu]

The point is that he did not meet eligibility requirements to start playing ball right away. Getting a degree proves that you did the work necessary to earn your degree and they reward you by giving you the "burned" year back. I have no idea if this rule is still in place but it is the one that Mack used to play at WSU.

So you are confirming that Mack's senior year was his 6th year of college?

[Ricardo del Rio]

Troy Mack - 1998-2002.

Coach Smithson will remember.

I swear that I do not remember Coach Turgeon as Mack's coach. The memory dims.

[The Mad Hatter]

So you are confirming that Mack's senior year was his 6th year of college?

The NCAA did away with the partial qualifier category in 2005, and from what I've read it does sound like when that status was in place partial qualifiers had to earn their degree in a certain time frame. See the following article from 2002 for an example:

http://www.uscho.com/2002/08/05/mankato-loses-cunningham-to-eligibility-rules/

As I said before, the category no longer exists. Under the waiver system, as I understand it, a player might be ruled to be immediately eligible, ineligible for the first year but eligible in the second so long as certain academic standards are met, or ruled ineligible entirely. The committee is tasked with looking at mitigating circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the eligibility requirements such as evidence of a learning disability, personal events, evidence of strong classroom performance but poor standardized test taking ability, etc. as well as the institutions plan for assuring the student will progress academically in college.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Eligibility/Becoming+Eligible/Initial+eligibility+Waivers

I'm not going to attach it because it is more of a pain than websites, but there is also a PowerPoint from the NCAA that can be found online by searching for "initial eligibility waiver" that explains some of the process.

[Kung Wu]

Troy Mack - 1998-2002.

Coach Smithson will remember.

I swear that I do not remember Coach Turgeon as Mack's coach. The memory dims.

My memory sucks too, but I do remember Coach Turgeon inheriting Mack and Mack going off to big man camp after his junior year. I could have sworn I remember Mack's last year at the Kansas Coliseum (which would have been the 2002/2003 season, his fifth and final year).

[Kung Wu]

The NCAA did away with the partial qualifier category in 2005, and from what I've read it does sound like when that status was in place partial qualifiers had to earn their degree in a certain time frame. See the following article from 2002 for an example:

http://www.uscho.com/2002/08/05/mankato-loses-cunningham-to-eligibility-rules/

As I said before, the category no longer exists. Under the waiver system, as I understand it, a player might be ruled to be immediately eligible, ineligible for the first year but eligible in the second so long as certain academic standards are met, or ruled ineligible entirely. The committee is tasked with looking at mitigating circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the eligibility requirements such as evidence of a learning disability, personal events, evidence of strong classroom performance but poor standardized test taking ability, etc. as well as the institutions plan for assuring the student will progress academically in college.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Eligibility/Becoming+Eligible/Initial+eligibility+Waivers

I'm not going to attach it because it is more of a pain than websites, but there is also a PowerPoint from the NCAA that can be found online by searching for "initial eligibility waiver" that explains some of the process.

Good thing they did away with that stupid rule. It made no sense whatsoever. Why would someone academically ineligible have to burn one of his 4 years to play, when they have a full year to get their eligibility in order (by the 5 to play 4 rule)? Better yet, just sit out a year of college and beef up in the gym -- it completely incentivizes the kid to not enroll in college. That might go down as the dumbest rule they ever came up with.

[pinstripers]

Don't understand your point, I guess. Sitting out while not in college would not have helped. Academies were not as predominant at that time.

[The Mad Hatter]

Good thing they did away with that stupid rule. It made no sense whatsoever. Why would someone academically ineligible have to burn one of his 4 years to play, when they have a full year to get their eligibility in order (by the 5 to play 4 rule)? Better yet, just sit out a year of college and beef up in the gym -- it completely incentivizes the kid to not enroll in college. That might go down as the dumbest rule they ever came up with.

Sitting out a year wouldn't have gotten the student any closer to being eligible. If they didn't take the partial qualifier route, they would have needed to go the JUCO route and therefore would have only ended up with 2 years of DI eligibility. I do think that the waiver system seems to be a better approach, however.

[150946shox]

My memory sucks too, but I do remember Coach Turgeon inheriting Mack and Mack going off to big man camp after his junior year. I could have sworn I remember Mack's last year at the Kansas Coliseum (which would have been the 2002/2003 season, his fifth and final year).

Troy's final year was 2001 - 2002. http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/pla...tate/troy-mack

[wufan]

So you are confirming that Mack's senior year was his 6th year of college?

Kung Wu, this seems to be flying over your head. Mack came to WSU as a freshman and used his first year of eligability without ever playing a minute. He was not allowed a red-shirt freshman season. His sophomore year was his first year to play, second year of eligability. His junior year was his second year to play, third year of eligability. His senior year was his third year to play and 4th/last year of eligability. Low and behold, he graduates. The NCAA gave Troy a 5th year of eligability as a graduate student which was the 4th year that he played basketball at WSU.