The Bobcat Nation

With the pending NCAA scholarship sanctions starting against the Grizzlies in the 2014-2015 season how much do you think their program will be affected. I know some grizzly fans are touting this year as one of the best recruiting years they have had in a long time. I have read that starting this year their scholarships have been reduced from 63 to 59 and will last for the next three years. Does anyone think these reductions have any affect on programs or is it mainly just to appease the NCAA? I would think 12 scholarships in 3 years and a new coaching staff coming on board would be a big deal but maybe it isn't.

So... the argument you hear from current administrators is that "on average" we've used 61 of our allowed 63 - so this reduction is more like losing 2 scholarships instead of 4. If you talk to prior administrators they'll say that's not entirely accurate. I would guess the truth lies somewhere in between.

What I'd venture you'll see in the next few years is more focus on walk-ons from in-state, which will be an advantage for MSU b/c they'll be able to maybe snag a recruit or two with partial offers. Also a bit more sharing of scholarships, especially for in-state kids. Could see more activity for "preferred" walk-ons with a promise of a schollie in the next 12, 18, or 24 months.

I think the biggest impact will be seen on our special teams, and we're probably kind of seeing it already with our kicking issues and such.

Aren't the Griz already down scholarships? I don't think the penalties just begin next year do they?

Jobu wrote:Aren't the Griz already down scholarships? I don't think the penalties just begin next year do they?

That's correct, the penalties started in the summer of 2014

BWahlberg wrote:

Jobu wrote:Aren't the Griz already down scholarships? I don't think the penalties just begin next year do they?

That's correct, the penalties started in the summer of 2014

I thought it was the summer of 2013? However you would know better than me.

The Griz went 8-4 this year, which would normally be a down year for them, but this isn't the same BSC as it was 6-7 years ago. I think that record has more to do with the increased, and increasing, parity in the BSC than the NCAA penalties. You have EWU, MSU to contend with, not to mention Poly and ISU. 6-7 years ago there were no teams at EWU and MSU's level. One team per year would give them a little push, but that was it. The Griz have only won the BSC once n the last five years, depending on who you ask. Had someone told me that was going to happen after the 2009 season I would've laughed at them. Today I would laugh if you told me they'd win it next year.

It'll be interesting to see how they approach recruiting this year. It looks like they've already got commits from about 15 players out of HS. I was expecting them to go for some transfers, but the chance of that decreases with each HS commit. We'll see.