The Bobcat Nation

I read an interesting artical yesterday about a the ACC has made an official recomendation/proposal to the NCAA that would grant all football players 5 years of elligibility. What this would do is elliminate in all but extreem cases an athletes redshirt year. This would allow players to play all or any part of their five years. It would also allow all football athletes 5 years of education. This proposal is geared towards D1-A but you know it will most likely trickle down to D1-AA at least. If this proposal is taken seriuosly by the rank and file of the NCAA is yet to be seen, and it would most likely take years to impliment, but it would be great for the students.
As far as MSU goes, according to Kramer, he grant 5 years of scholarship money to all football players (IE Kane Ione (sp?) would have had scholarship money for next year), but players like Kane or Lulay who were needed to play as freshman they would not be the pay a penalty as now sort of exists of losing a year of eligiblity. Think about it, what if Kane was allowed to come back next year.

mvp again?

Who knows. Kane was a great performer and played with a lot of heart, and was definately a motivator. However, what has happened to him in his post career as a bobcat? From the post regarding his tryouts with Tampa Bay, it wasn't too successful, now was it?

To point out the utterly obvious -- getting and invite and participating in a tryout with an NFL team is in itself the sign of being extremely successful as a post-collegiate football player.

We're just a little spoiled right now with so many MSU players being looked at by NFL teams. That is a rarity in the BSC and I-AA in general.

Yes, that is very obvious. Maybe I should have been more clear in that, his success in the Big Sky might not neccesarily turn out bright in the next level. If he would have been the winner of the Buck Buchanan award for I-AA, that would have helped greatly. And yes, we are definately spoiled for having so many Cats in NFL mix right now.

Oh, I misread what you were saying. I thought you were downplaying the poster who said he would be the conference MVP again. My bad.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for 5 year eligibility. I've seen more prominent proposals to go back to no freshman eligibility. I don't think the rule would be any different for 1A than 1AA, whatever the rule might turn out to be. I don't see need for any change; student-athlete isn't supposed to be a career. A 5 year scholarship and 4 years of playing is a pretty good deal. Gives them a chance to be students, which isn't that easy.

I would be for it, if the student demonstrates academic ability (say by graduating in 4 years). The NCAA needs to tie academic sucess to the ability to compete as an athlete for longer.

theblackgecko
I come from the other side of the issue, as to why would you grant an athlete an extra year
if they have graduated in 4. I think it should be set up to take the 4 year curriculum and
spread it out over 5 years, then say if an athlete is making substantial progress for his
completion in a five year period or better he would be granted a 5th year. Athletics
really demands allot of our students time and I think we should give them back some
time. I know many of us did have jobs during our college experience, but how many of
our jobs required us to be away from school and classes of 3-6 days every other week or
so? How many of us non-athletes graduated in 4 consecutive years? It took me 16
quarters in a 15 quarter (architecture is a 5 year program) curriculum spread out over 6
years to get my sheep skin. Furthermore I think it is the place of college athletics to take a
chance on a student athletic who may not have a stellar GPA. I am not saying give them
a free ride but to say if you perform academically to as high level as you can we will
honor your scholarship for 5 years.