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Interesting article from the PP regarding the extra year, especially as that was a big focus in the presser. They talk specifically regarding Brandon Johnson's situation.-
www.twincities.com
The NCAA is allowing student-athletes an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic, a reprieve of sorts for players whose 2020-21 seasons were marred by shutdowns, postponements and cancellations.
Sounds simple, but it’s not. While the NCAA will waive the limit on scholarships for 2021-22, there are other issues to consider, such as incoming recruiting classes, playing time and, most important, money.
And ultimately, it’s up to the school, not the student-athlete. While schools cannot cancel the scholarship of a student-athlete who opted out of the season because of COVID concerns, they can decline a request from a player who competed.
The blanket waiver, explained Michelle Brutlag Hosick, associate director of communications for the NCAA, was permissive. “It did not require schools to bring student-athletes back or give them financial aid,” she said. “It allowed schools to do so if they choose.”
The biggest issue there, of course, will be money. Athletics programs are struggling financially because of revenue lost during the pandemic, so paying an extra year of a scholarship is a major consideration.
So, like any relationship, the one between a sports program and its student-athletes can be complicated. Some schools already are planning to bring seniors back for an extra year, others already have said they won’t.
Minnesota, an athletics department spokesman said, is “still working our way through that process.”
According to the school’s website, average cost of attendance — the bar for athletics scholarships — is between $28,942 for state residents and $48,740 for nonresidents.
Hosick, whose primary responsibility is NCAA academics, eligibility and Division I governance, said schools have until July 1 to request a waiver. Players also can enter the transfer portal and use their extra year of eligibility at another school.
The bottom line there is likely to be money.
Minnesota athletics projects a revenue loss of between $40 million and $60 million because of the pandemic, and in October cut men’s gymnastics, tennis and indoor track and field programs starting in 2021-22 in order to save money.
In some ways, it will be easier for so-called “equivalency programs” to bring players back, even if their institution decides not to play for the scholarships. In basketball and football, for instance, each player receives a full scholarship. In equivalency programs, the allotted scholarship money can be distributed among many players.
In Division I ice hockey, for instance, 18 scholarships can be shared by 25 players. And because under the waiver rules, schools are not required to match the scholarship amount from the previous year, a coach has more flexibility.
Gophers women’s hockey coach Brad Frost hopes to bring back at least three seniors from this year’s team, which had several games postponed and played one of the weirder schedules in the country.
“There are a lot of unknowns now and for the coming years, as well,” Frost said.
The waiver doesn’t only apply to seniors, although it seems likely to be used that way in general. Gophers women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen might have found the best use of the extra year by getting freshman point guard Katie Borowicz to enroll in January instead of next fall.
A four-star recruit from Roseau, Borowicz played 14 games with one start and averaged 3.9 points and 2.1 assists. More important, she got a crash-course in Big Ten basketball without burning any eligibility. And because Whalen already had her penciled in as an incoming freshman in 2021-22, she doesn’t forfeit one of her 13 scholarship spots.
“That’s why we brought Katie in,” Whalen said in February.
Whoever succeeds Richard Pitino shouldn’t have an issue, either, because three Gophers men’s basketball players already have entered the transfer portal — Marcus Carr, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jarvis Omersa — and the coach will be behind on recruiting. P.J. Fleck already has some seniors who intend to come back next season, including cornerback Coney Durr and lineman Conner Olson.
Those coaches could just give an open scholarship to a senior who wants to come back.
Forward Brandon Johnson, for instance, has expressed strong interest in returning and would be an attractive recruit to a new coach whether he played here last season or not. A graduate transfer from Western Michigan, he averaged 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first Big Ten basketball season.
Extra NCAA eligibility is available to players, but will schools help?
Student-athletes granted waiver for pandemic season, but schools must pay for it.
www.twincities.com
The NCAA is allowing student-athletes an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic, a reprieve of sorts for players whose 2020-21 seasons were marred by shutdowns, postponements and cancellations.
Sounds simple, but it’s not. While the NCAA will waive the limit on scholarships for 2021-22, there are other issues to consider, such as incoming recruiting classes, playing time and, most important, money.
And ultimately, it’s up to the school, not the student-athlete. While schools cannot cancel the scholarship of a student-athlete who opted out of the season because of COVID concerns, they can decline a request from a player who competed.
The blanket waiver, explained Michelle Brutlag Hosick, associate director of communications for the NCAA, was permissive. “It did not require schools to bring student-athletes back or give them financial aid,” she said. “It allowed schools to do so if they choose.”
The biggest issue there, of course, will be money. Athletics programs are struggling financially because of revenue lost during the pandemic, so paying an extra year of a scholarship is a major consideration.
So, like any relationship, the one between a sports program and its student-athletes can be complicated. Some schools already are planning to bring seniors back for an extra year, others already have said they won’t.
Minnesota, an athletics department spokesman said, is “still working our way through that process.”
According to the school’s website, average cost of attendance — the bar for athletics scholarships — is between $28,942 for state residents and $48,740 for nonresidents.
Hosick, whose primary responsibility is NCAA academics, eligibility and Division I governance, said schools have until July 1 to request a waiver. Players also can enter the transfer portal and use their extra year of eligibility at another school.
The bottom line there is likely to be money.
Minnesota athletics projects a revenue loss of between $40 million and $60 million because of the pandemic, and in October cut men’s gymnastics, tennis and indoor track and field programs starting in 2021-22 in order to save money.
In some ways, it will be easier for so-called “equivalency programs” to bring players back, even if their institution decides not to play for the scholarships. In basketball and football, for instance, each player receives a full scholarship. In equivalency programs, the allotted scholarship money can be distributed among many players.
In Division I ice hockey, for instance, 18 scholarships can be shared by 25 players. And because under the waiver rules, schools are not required to match the scholarship amount from the previous year, a coach has more flexibility.
Gophers women’s hockey coach Brad Frost hopes to bring back at least three seniors from this year’s team, which had several games postponed and played one of the weirder schedules in the country.
“There are a lot of unknowns now and for the coming years, as well,” Frost said.
The waiver doesn’t only apply to seniors, although it seems likely to be used that way in general. Gophers women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen might have found the best use of the extra year by getting freshman point guard Katie Borowicz to enroll in January instead of next fall.
A four-star recruit from Roseau, Borowicz played 14 games with one start and averaged 3.9 points and 2.1 assists. More important, she got a crash-course in Big Ten basketball without burning any eligibility. And because Whalen already had her penciled in as an incoming freshman in 2021-22, she doesn’t forfeit one of her 13 scholarship spots.
“That’s why we brought Katie in,” Whalen said in February.
Whoever succeeds Richard Pitino shouldn’t have an issue, either, because three Gophers men’s basketball players already have entered the transfer portal — Marcus Carr, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jarvis Omersa — and the coach will be behind on recruiting. P.J. Fleck already has some seniors who intend to come back next season, including cornerback Coney Durr and lineman Conner Olson.
Those coaches could just give an open scholarship to a senior who wants to come back.
Forward Brandon Johnson, for instance, has expressed strong interest in returning and would be an attractive recruit to a new coach whether he played here last season or not. A graduate transfer from Western Michigan, he averaged 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first Big Ten basketball season.