most d-1 scholarship athletes sign a contract every year. as in life and hockey games there are no guarantees


-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Lewin <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 3:07 pm
Subject: any attorneys out there?



As CHN reports yet another College player (Kyle Rogers of Niagara)  turning
pro early, I wonder if there is an attorney on the list who could answer
this:

Assuming that athletes under scholarship must sign a contract with the
school, would it be legal to include a clause in that contract that
stipulates the athlete must repay any scholarship money if he/she chooses to
fore go eligibility in order to turn professional.

My limited education in the law (which consists of one freshman course back
when the  Magna Carta was  modern law) makes me think that the school
probably treats an athletic scholarship as a one year deal so they can
withdraw it if the athlete turns out to be "not deserving".  If they treat
the scholarship as a four year package, they may be forced to pay everyone
for all 4 years even if they don't play the sport for all four years for
whatever reason.  By treating an athletic scholarship as a year by year
grant, after the year is over and the scholarship has been paid, there is no
way to recoup it.

Any comments?
I know this sounds more like an off-season topic, but for some of us, the
season has been over for 3 weeks or more :-(