How should scholarship limits be handled if season cancelled?
My understanding is that each team can offer up to 85 scholarships per year. If there is no season fall or spring season, what would you all suggest assuming things are back to normal fall 2021?
Should each team be given an extra X # of scholarships, such that seniors who are not going to the NFL are given an extra year of eligibility?
Should there be no limit put on upper 5th/6th senior scholarships, and the rest of the team is limited to the 85?
What do you all think is the best/simplest way to handle this. I'm sure every school will try to game the system however they can to get as much talent stacked on the roster as possible, and this albatross year may actually create an even more unbalanced CFB landscape with even less parity.
It will be traded the same as a medical redshirt
a lot of 5th year players about to be processed to make room for incoming classes
gonna be a lot of grad transfers
Where are those grad transfers going to go?
to lower schools who processed their 5th years, as well as backfills for players that declare
I'm sure the NCAA has a plan to allow certain schools in Flavortown & SEC country to do whatever they want. Rubber stamps have already been ordered.
Michigan, however will receive decision after decision that will lead to hospitalizations for an overabundance of head scratching.
Like other blue blood programs, Michigan holds all the cards in their relationship with the NCAA. If we decided to play by the same rules as the SEC teams or OSU we'd get plenty of decisions our way.
Rich Rod would say, "That's a stretch!"
Nothing, seniors graduate and don’t get another year of eligibility. Inevitably someone gets hosed no matter what you do, better to not change anything and just move forward.
This. As much as it sucks, why is someone’s Senior year more important then the incoming Freshman year. There isn’t a way to to help someone without hurting someone else, so the best bet, in almost any situation, is just to roll with the punches and keep on moving.
If you give the seniors another year, you screw the juniors that have been waiting. No matter what, someone is getting hosed unless you extend eligibility to six years permanently. Rip the band aid off and move on.
I’ve thought about that and to avoid that, I’m wondering if you give all current players an extra year of eligibility regardless of their year, and as long as they’re still an active student in good standing, they can keep playing and not worry about getting processed out. So everyone gets back to square one and gets the same benefit. Not a permanent thing, and assuming football starts again next year, the 2021 class and beyond goes back to four years of eligibility.
I can see how that creates financial burden by forcing extra scholarships, and that may mean some schools just can’t do it. If so, my idea is kaput. But your other options are shafting current players and throwing them out into the cold.
Tell me how that’s fair when athletes playing spring sports didn’t lose a year of eligibility when their seasons were cancelled a few months ago. Why should Fall athletes get shafted when the Spring athletes got their extra years? After also getting to play a few games, mind you.
I never said it was fair. I think the NCAA probably learned from the spring decision. There was quite a bit of backlash/problems identified after that decision. Additionally, the spring decision was made very quickly and not fully thought through as several coaches quickly pointed out. As I said above, any decision is going to be “unfair” to someone.
Yeah, this feels most likely. Guys lose their senior years, which sucks, and the 85 cap sticks, though academically nobody gets hosed so that's a small silver lining.
IMO, when the P5 takes control of big time college football in the spring they will decide. Not the NCAA
Michigan should get maybe 100, 150.
OSU something like 10.
THEN we'll see who's the tough guy.
There's no realistic way to stay at 85 if there is no season. Other sports will be dealing with the same issue.
My guess, every school will be allowed to take up to 25 recruits regardless of space available. Either that or they can take as many players as the number of true seniors, redshirt seniors and open spots on the roster combined. No backdating EEs. They won't force schools to process players to make room. That would be particularly unfair since almost no one would have room for incoming transfers. They will need a new rule about handling transfers.
There will be uncertainty about whether a Spring season will take place when the early signing day rolls around and possibly still in February.
The incoming freshman class is going to get screwed regardless since a lot of schools won't want to inflate their rosters.
Some schools may not want to inflate their rosters, but the big brands that can afford it are absolutely going to want to expand rosters so they can hoard talent and prevent borderline seniors and project freshman from ending up at “lesser” schools. They probably want to stash as many guys as you can and work it out later. Then other schools who don’t want to or can’t afford it will probably sell their souls to try and keep up. I think the pressure will push everyone to carry a larger roster for a few years. Cause if you go up to 100, you aren’t getting back down to 85 the next year.
Schools are facing economic hardships but in their mind, if they can get a competitive advantage by having extra scholarships and just get lucky and win something one year then it was all worth it.
Whatever is decided, I’ve already accepted the reality that the SEC, Clemson, and OSU will manipulate what new rules exist and get away with it while Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten, Pac12 and ACC will get no benefit whatsoever.
Any senior who wishes to come back and play should be allowed to. I really do t think there will be that many as many will ha e graduated and have no shit at the NFL so will probably choose to move on rather then take a full class load just to play one more season
My guess is the “sucks to be you” protocols will engage. There are only so many resources available and AD’s will be dealing with DEEP debts from a cancelled season and two cancelled NCAA basketball tournaments. If you’re out of eligibility, you’re out and next man up. Yeah, it sucks but I don’t see any other way to thread the needle.
I know it's an antiquated concept, but academics should drive these decisions. What's best for student athletes in every sport?
A lot of freshmen are delaying going to college right now, and others are taking a year to work. The "five to play four" concept will still apply.
There isn't going to be a perfectly fair solution that works for everyone. If there are going to be college athletics post-COVID (and I'm not sure that will be the case - at least with scholarships and the level of dedication that's currently required), maybe the best thing is to not allow for a sixth year.
August 10th, 2020 at 4:13 PM ^
It is going to be interesting. You’d have to extend the scholarship limit by a significant amount to allow the next class in under the limit (if nobody gets processed or declares). Even with the typical attrition, we’re definitely going to have to figure this out; otherwise we’re going to see unprecedented “processing” which would really suck.
Another way is to not extend anyone’s eligibility but then the seniors are screwed. No good options here.