Weis, Irish Flirting With Disaster?

[PMac]

i hate to make this a first post... but i saw this on Profootballtalk.com. What does it mean and what do you make of it?




WEIS, IRISH FLIRTING WITH DISASTER?

A league source with intimate knowledge of the applicable NCAA regulations tells us that Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis might have rendered quarterback Brady Quinn and other incoming seniors ineligible if, as we previously have reported, Weis has directed the seniors with designs on pro football to pick their agents before the start of the 2006 season.

Rule 12.3.1 of the NCAA bylaws states that "[a]n individual shall be ineligible for participation in an intercollegiate sport if he or she ever has agreed (orally or in writing) to be represented by an agent for the purpose of marketing his or her athletics ability or reputation in that sport." Rule 12.3.1.1 elaborates on the general principle set forth in Rule 12.3.1: "An individual shall be ineligible per Bylaw 12.3.1 if he or she enters into a verbal or written agreement with an agent for representation in future professional sports negotiations that are to take place after the individual has completed his or her eligibility in that sport." A screen shot of the relevant page from the on-line NCAA manual appears below.



So what does it all mean? If Quinn or any other of his teammates actually pick a football agent before the completion of their eligibility, their eligibility might be completed far sooner than they realized.

The key is that eligibility evaporates per Rule 12.3.1.1 even if there's only a verbal agreement between, for example, Quinn and agent Don Yee that Yee will represent Quinn, and that a written agreement for the representation will be signed later. Although it might be difficult for the NCAA to prove that there's a violation if Quinn and Yee mutually agree to claim that there was no agreement, the fact that Quinn is going through the process of interviewing agents and narrowing the field before his final season of college ball is strong circumstantial evidence of an intention to pick his agent while still otherwise eligible. The fact that Yee and others are participating in the process is likewise circumstantial evidence of an implicit agreement that they'll agree to represent Quinn, if picked to do so.

The broader question is whether the NCAA will dare to do anything that might result in killing the goose that lays beneath the golden dome. Our guess? The powers-that-be will stick their heads in the sand on this one, content in spewing the party line that no final selections have been made by any of the Notre Dame seniors.

Still, it's a risk that Weis would have been wise not to take, in light of the plain language of the relevant bylaws (unless, of course, he got advance approval from the NCAA that it's okay to tell his guys to pick their agents if they merely don't tell the agents they've been picked).

And what does Weis really gain by forcing the players to pick agents now? Although some league insiders think it's a brilliant strategy for minimizing distractions, it's also a possible means for fomenting resentment from players who would have preferred not to be rushed. Many factors still need to be determined, and an agent who looks to be the right choice in June might not ultimately be a player's best bet come January.

As one league insider told us on Sunday, "Weis isn't doing the kids any favors by sheltering them. He instead should be educating them so that they can make good decisions at the right time."

Indeed, the only college players who talk to agents during the seasons are the college players who want to. Really, why should Weis or any other coach tell the players that they can't use what little free time they have talking to potential agents?

Stay tuned. At a time when the media ripped ferociously into various scandals that emerged in April regarding USC, we figure that there's enough blood in the water to prompt a few of them to take a hard look at whether the efforts of Charlie Weis to minimize distractions have inadvertently created a big fat one

[chrislw35]

I can guarantee no student athlete at ND has made such an agreement verbal or otherwise. These are student athletes at Notre Dame!! While no person is free of making mistakes, these student athletes have been given the best advice available. I am sure that advice isn't to tell an agent i'm yours to represent after my senior season. The student may have chosen a short list but not the above suggested.

[guff]

PFT while generally reliable has been wildly inaccurate at times. Also it should be noted (by them in the interest of full disclosure) that website is the work of NFL agents. Probably agents that don't have a chance at ND players or have a poor relationship with Weis

[ashellm]

i agree. notre dame would not be that careless. the press is just lickin' their chops over this one.

[irishfan81]

Whoever posted that is a USC FAN. Thats the most stupidest thing I've read. Charlie would never do that.

[Óglaigh_na_hÉireann]

We're safe because they can never prove that anything happened if indeed, anything ever did happen in the first place; hopefully it didn't, that would really tarnish our reputation.

[scooper]

Never ever take profootballtalk.com as truth. Sometimes it is, but more often it isn't.