Daniel Falk <[log in to unmask]> writes:
>2. Being on a scholarship based on performance is, indeed, a tough
>way to live.  The coach can pull a scholarship away at any time or at least
>at the end of the year.  This must put a lot of stress on the 2nd and
>3rd lines or the freshmen.  And remember, it's really one man's opinion,
>the coach, who decides if the school renews the scholarship.
 
This is the second time today I have seen this sentiment expressed,
but as of yet no one has refuted it.  I cannot claim to be an expert
in Letters of Intent or scholarships, but I am under the impression
that it is not true that a scholarship can be revoked arbitrarily.
Rather, my belief is that the scholarship offer is like a contract
between the player and the school, and the player must live up to his
end of the bargain to keep the scholarship.  Among the things he must
do are: perform to an accepted level academically (whatever that is
defined to be), stay out of trouble (likewise), and perhaps several
others.
 
But, I have always believed that athletic performance was NOT one of
the things upon which scholarship renewal hinged.  If a player was
following school and team rules but wasn't as good as projected, that
is the way it goes.  It is the risk that coaches take in offering
scholarships.
 
In fact, I have known in the past of a number of players who have been
cut from teams because they weren't good enough, yet they retained
their scholarships.  And, according to the Boston Globe of June 16,
1994, one issue in the BC case was that Greg Taylor was asked to
give up his scholarship so it could go to someone else.  But BC didn't
have the right to take it away.  BC had to ask Taylor to give the
scholarship up.  (He refused.)
 
If someone more familiar with the LoI and the scholarship agreement
between an athlete and school could, at their leisure, post more
details about how the agreement works, I know I and others would
appreciate it.  It's something I have always wondered about.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                 [log in to unmask]           [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93
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