[jayasena]

From the comments section of reddit: 

http://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1kl...u/cbqa8eh 

Former NCAA compliance officer here. Thought I'd explain where this ruling is coming from and why his waiver will be granted.

First, from the article: "...graduated from Antioch High School in 2007, worked at the Nissan plant in Smyrna for a year and then joined the Marine Corps in August 2008..." This one small part of a tiny paragraph to give background on the player is actually the crux of the NCAA's ruling. It has very little to do with his intramural activity and even less to do with his service to our country.

The rule in question is Bylaw in question is 14.2.3.2.1, which I will summarize for you because it is lengthy: A student must enroll at an institution within 1 year after graduating high school. The legislative intent of this rule is to prevent unfair competition by having guys out there that purposefully wait to enroll to gain muscle/age/ability. Think about the size that many student-athletes realize in their first year of football and imagine if they took a year on a regimented training program and still maintained eligibility.

Now, you say, "Hold on a second, smart guy! What about guys like Brandon Weeden, Russell Wilson, Chris Weinke or Ben Olson?" Well, the NCAA has exceptions that allow for kids to follow certain paths in life prior to competition in a specific sport. Most of us have heard of those first 3 names (they all played minor league baseball), but the 4th is the best example of this exception. Ben Olson, if you may remember, was a top QB recruit that decided to go on his mission after starting his career at BYU. Normally, this would halt the 5-year "ticking clock" rule for eligibility. Surprise! The NCAA exempts time spent on religious missions, foreign aid services, and military armed services. To prove I'm not lying...

"14.2.1.2 Service Exceptions to the Five-Year Rule: Time spent in the armed services, on official religious missions or with recognized foreign aid services of the U.S. government is excepted from the application of the five-year rule."

As a side note before we move forward, it's important to note that intramural sports are never counted towards eligibility. The NCAA sees those as purely recreational unless you doctor them somehow to replicate time in season or profit off the activities.

Pulling this altogether, if you made it this far, we get that the reason Mr. Rhodes is required to sit a year is because he waited over a year to join the Marines. Let's say he graduated in May of 2007. That means from May 2008 - August 2008 his clock started to tick. It's clearly unfortunate and the NCAA will surely remedy the situation with MTSU, but I figured I would at least attempt to explain what was going on better than the article did.

Bottom line: yes, the NCAA has flaws, but it also has purpose behind them. They aren't fair in many cases. The application of many rules are to prevent an unfair playing field. I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with all the NCAA has put forth. I just apply the laws as they're written and intended. Mr. Rhodes will get his eligibility and his justice.

Thanks for posting this RB 83. I think this is quite useful in clarifying the situation. It seems there's already an exception in the rules for military service. The root of the problem in this particular case, though, is not the military service but the fact that he worked at Nissan for a year+ before joining the military.

[jayasena]

From the comments section of reddit: 

http://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1kl...u/cbqa8eh 

Former NCAA compliance officer here. Thought I'd explain where this ruling is coming from and why his waiver will be granted.

First, from the article: "...graduated from Antioch High School in 2007, worked at the Nissan plant in Smyrna for a year and then joined the Marine Corps in August 2008..." This one small part of a tiny paragraph to give background on the player is actually the crux of the NCAA's ruling. It has very little to do with his intramural activity and even less to do with his service to our country.

The rule in question is Bylaw in question is 14.2.3.2.1, which I will summarize for you because it is lengthy: A student must enroll at an institution within 1 year after graduating high school. The legislative intent of this rule is to prevent unfair competition by having guys out there that purposefully wait to enroll to gain muscle/age/ability. Think about the size that many student-athletes realize in their first year of football and imagine if they took a year on a regimented training program and still maintained eligibility.

Now, you say, "Hold on a second, smart guy! What about guys like Brandon Weeden, Russell Wilson, Chris Weinke or Ben Olson?" Well, the NCAA has exceptions that allow for kids to follow certain paths in life prior to competition in a specific sport. Most of us have heard of those first 3 names (they all played minor league baseball), but the 4th is the best example of this exception. Ben Olson, if you may remember, was a top QB recruit that decided to go on his mission after starting his career at BYU. Normally, this would halt the 5-year "ticking clock" rule for eligibility. Surprise! The NCAA exempts time spent on religious missions, foreign aid services, and military armed services. To prove I'm not lying...

"14.2.1.2 Service Exceptions to the Five-Year Rule: Time spent in the armed services, on official religious missions or with recognized foreign aid services of the U.S. government is excepted from the application of the five-year rule."

As a side note before we move forward, it's important to note that intramural sports are never counted towards eligibility. The NCAA sees those as purely recreational unless you doctor them somehow to replicate time in season or profit off the activities.

Pulling this altogether, if you made it this far, we get that the reason Mr. Rhodes is required to sit a year is because he waited over a year to join the Marines. Let's say he graduated in May of 2007. That means from May 2008 - August 2008 his clock started to tick. It's clearly unfortunate and the NCAA will surely remedy the situation with MTSU, but I figured I would at least attempt to explain what was going on better than the article did.

Bottom line: yes, the NCAA has flaws, but it also has purpose behind them. They aren't fair in many cases. The application of many rules are to prevent an unfair playing field. I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with all the NCAA has put forth. I just apply the laws as they're written and intended. Mr. Rhodes will get his eligibility and his justice.

Thanks for posting this RB 83. I think this is quite useful in clarifying the situation. It seems there's already an exception in the rules for military service. The root of the problem in this particular case, though, is not the military service but the fact that he worked at Nissan for a year+ before joining the military.