'14 IL LB Nile Sykes (Indiana Transfer)

[TK22867]

Are we saying ND Admissions can't make 1 exception for a kid that is already on campus, and likely barely missed the acceptance standard?

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Bob Diaco needs you.

That's where I'm going brother. As you know I am a UCONN Alumn. There football is not good and I've loved Notre Dame football since I was a child. But, i feel sick to my stomach right now.

 

[tko]

That's where I'm going brother. As you know I am a UCONN Alumn. There football is not good and I've loved Notre Dame football since I was a child. But, i feel sick to my stomach right now.

Agree. Hate seeing this crap.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Really hope this isn't true. That's what, the third time in four years? Tee, EV, now Nile? You can't just allow these kids to get to campus and start taking classes and then all of a sudden say 'sorry, ya gots to get goin.' Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not what pretty much happened with Tee and EV too? I'm sure the details are a bit different but the general theme is the same, no? Maybe I'm mistaken. Either way, I feel bad for the kid.

 

[fitz_bu47]

Just ridiculous if true. Feel terrible for the kid, I can't imagine getting the dream of a lifetime like this taken away after I had begun living it.

 

[tussin]

Really hope this isn't true. That's what, the third time in four years? Tee, EV, now Nile? You can't just allow these kids to get to campus and start taking classes and then all of a sudden say 'sorry, ya gots to get goin.' Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not what pretty much happened with Tee and EV too? I'm sure the details are a bit different but the general theme is the same, no? Maybe I'm mistaken. Either way, I feel bad for the kid.

Not what happened with EV at all.

 

[wizards8507]

Can someone please provide a timeline so that we can at least agree about WHY we're outraged? I've seen bitching that this kid was retroactively un-admitted after he started taking classes, but I've also seen people make the point that he hasn't even had the opportunity to cheat because he HASN'T taken classes.

Seriously, how do we know this ISN'T an honor code violation? Please, I really do want to be as informed as possible but I haven't seen a single source, credible or otherwise, make the case that this was an issue with his high school transcript AFTER he started taking classes.

We understand that but you don't wait till he is on campus taking classes for a month before telling him. That is the fucking problem.

Most kids (regular students) don't start until the Fall so there would be plenty of time if you notified them in June.

 

[Irishman77]

Just ridiculous if true. Feel terrible for the kid, I can't imagine getting the dream of a lifetime like this taken away after I had begun living it.

All of the harsh remarks I made about USC in the Kylie Fitts situation....ahh we are no better!


Holtz loves ND like no other and he had it with admissions finally and left...

 

[dang227]

This is not a good look at all for the Irish and will be used extensively against them in recruiting. I wouldn't blame Kelly at all if he flew the coop with this BS happening.

 

[ResLife Hero]

Really hope this isn't true. That's what, the third time in four years? Tee, EV, now Nile? You can't just allow these kids to get to campus and start taking classes and then all of a sudden say 'sorry, ya gots to get goin.' Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not what pretty much happened with Tee and EV too? I'm sure the details are a bit different but the general theme is the same, no? Maybe I'm mistaken. Either way, I feel bad for the kid.

EV got out of his LOI through his own shady means, nothing ND did. Tee, I'm less sure of the situation.

 

[IrishLax]

Its more then just going through the appeals process etc...how could you trust these people again? I don't blame him one bit and wish him nothing but the best.

Incredibly disappointed. I'm 100X more disappointed about this then about Hilliard going to OSU.

I do think it's important to note that this on the surface this sounds much worse than it really is. The difference between this being a non-story and big story is just timing.

It's apparent that Nile needed an ACT score of X (or X + whatever GPA) to get through admissions. It does seem like he was aware of the number he needed and tried multiple times to get it but ultimately did not. If you let him know this before he steps on campus, people just go "oh darn that sucks."

Instead, it seems like total bullshit... well, because it is. Because admissions let him get this far into things before raising the offside flag.

It's also important to note that this happens at a LOT of schools with non-qualifiers. Kids sign, enroll, and sometime before fall camp they find out their fate. A lot of schools have 2-3 kids do this every year... but at those schools, it's failing to meet a concrete NCAA minimum not ND saying "nope, you didn't meet our subjective line in the sand." So instead of the blame being with the kid/NCAA it's pretty squarely on ND/kid.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Wasn't there a rumor that the reason behind the Vanderdoes family being upset with ND started with 1) his announcement being spoiled and 2) an admission issue? Yea he got out of his LOI, but wasn't it because they were fed up with ND and wanted out?

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

Again, Sykes likely won't miss a year of eligibility if the situation is as some of you are presenting it.

Thus, his next best offers are Cinci, Mizzou (he just followed their grad assistant coach on Twitter), Syracuse, Indiana, etc. He's likely headed to Indiana where his boy will be a freshman.

I understand that, more generally, this kind of stuff makes ND look very, very bad, and in no way is it a good precedent. But, as far as Sykes specific situation is involved, he may simply be given his second best option because he couldn't qualify with ND admissions. The only detriment to him will be not attending ND. It won't be missing a year of football, eligibility, etc.

 

[Irishman77]

Yeah maybe Kelly is pushing admissions to the limits and pleading to wait on a decision and let the kid retake and retake until this point.....who knows. I am drinking lagavulin tonight!

 

[wizards8507]

Tee, I'm less sure of the situation.

That kind of position is obviously trolling and will not be tolerated. Everyone knows that it's 100% certain that Tee Shepard is an angel of a human being who's never rolled a single joint or gotten less than an A- in a single class. He's had perfect attendance at school since the second grade and all he wanted was the opportunity to feed the poor with Brian Kelly, win three national championships, and earn his chemical engineering degree summa cum laude. Unfortunately, the Illuminati infiltrators in the Notre Dame admissions department refused to admit him after it was discovered that he left his 10th grade Spanish class field trip five minutes early to volunteer making paper mache ladybugs at the old folks home.

 

[wizards8507]

It's apparent that Nile needed an ACT score of X (or X + whatever GPA) to get through admissions. It does seem like he was aware of the number he needed and tried multiple times to get it but ultimately did not. If you let him know this before he steps on campus, people just go "oh darn that sucks."

His Rivals profile says he got a 28. If that's true, there's no way it's the reason there were problems. I know a fencer who got into ND with a 23 and various players' other scores have been reported way lower without any issue. Didn't Isaiah McKenzie get like a 17?

 

[Jebediah Springfield]

That kind of position is obviously trolling and will not be tolerated. Everyone knows that it's 100% certain that Tee Shepard is an angel of a human being who's never rolled a single joint or gotten less than an A- in a single class. He's had perfect attendance at school since the second grade and all he wanted was the opportunity to feed the poor with Brian Kelly, win three national championships, and earn his chemical engineering degree summa cum laude. Unfortunately, the Illuminati infiltrators in the Notre Dame admissions department refused to admit him after it was discovered that he left his 10th grade Spanish class field trip five minutes early to volunteer making paper mache ladybugs at the old folks home.

Damn you went to heaven and found out angels don't smoke the reefer?

Can i ask you another question, I've always wanted to know... Does Jesus have black skin?

 

[greyhammer90]

For me it all comes down to notice. Was he warned that he could possibly not make the cut academically and elect to roll the dice?

If so we're good.

 

[Emcee77]

Can someone please provide a timeline so that we can at least agree about WHY we're outraged?

Right, I really want to know what happened before I consider withdrawing my support from ND. Is it not possible that
a) Nile bombed a class,
b) Montini sent a final transcript to ND a week or two after Nile graduated on May 18 (so transcript goes out as late as June 1),
c) ND receives the transcript and reviews it, along with about 2000 other freshman transcripts, taking a week or two (so problem recognized as late as June 15),
d) ND crunches the numbers, and takes another week or two to have internal admissions discussions (so final decision made as late as July 1),
and then tells Nile of the decision promptly? That wouldn't be incredibly outrageous, would it? Do we know anything that disproves that possibility?

 

[wizards8507]

Damn you went to heaven and found out angels don't smoke the reefer?

Can i ask you another question, I've always wanted to know... Does Jesus have black skin?

His lack of reefer-smoking is independent of his status as an angel. It is, however, a reason recruits and athletes have been asked to no longer be a part of the Notre Dame athletic department.

 

[wizards8507]

Right, I really want to know what happened before I consider withdrawing my support from ND. Is it not possible that a) Nile bombed a class, b) Montini sent a final transcript to ND a week or two after Nile graduated on May 18 (so transcript goes out as late as June 1), c) ND receives the transcript and reviews it, along with about 2000 other freshman transcripts, taking a week or two (so problem recognized as late as June 15), d) ND crunches the numbers, and takes another week or two to have internal admissions discussions (so final decision made as late as July 1), and then tells Nile of the decision promptly? That wouldn't be incredibly outrageous, would it? Do we know anything that disproves that possibility?

Thank you for providing those dates. What you illustrated is exactly how I envision this going down (again, if we're even on the right track, which is still to be confirmed). "The system" is not broken because 98% of students enroll in the fall and there's plenty of time for final transcript review and the time they actually show up to move in. This is a unique situation that only comes up in the rare instances a borderline kid starts at ND like a week after high school ends.

 

[gkIrish]

While I am pissed I don't think this is serious enough to consider changing your fandom. Isolated (yet major) problem if you ask me.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Who knows what is true, but this article is citing "one source" that says it's not academic.
Status of Montini's Sykes uncertain at Notre Dame - chicagotribune.com

One source said the reason is not academic but that Sykes is seeking a school that is a better fit

 

[wizards8507]

Who knows what is true, but this article is citing "one source" that says it's not academic.
Status of Montini's Sykes uncertain at Notre Dame - chicagotribune.com

What a jackass, trying to spoil the outrage party.

 

[TK22867]

"The system" is not broken because 98% of students enroll in the fall and there's plenty of time for final transcript review and the time they actually show up to move in. This is a unique situation that only comes up in the rare instances a borderline kid starts at ND like a week after high school ends.

Shouldn't admission have an idea of who is/isn't planning on attending summer school classes and process those final transcripts first as high priority?

It appears to me the system is broken 2% of the time. It's still broken.

 

[Irish#1]

You're talking about a guy who was all-ND and wanted the offer badly and got it and has been nothing but loyal... never stepped a toe out of line and to my knowledge hasn't screwed up anything since he's been on campus... and you're going to pull the rug out from under him? When many other schools would have no problem with his academic profile?

I'm fucking embarrassed with my University right now unless there is something part of the picture I don't know yet.

Nobody knows what's going on. No need to get worked up about speculation. Wait until we find out.

 

[GoIrish41]

I just hope Nile can appeal this decision. Might be able to use performance in summer courses as a barometer. Doubtful, but possible. Most kids would just say fuck you and move on to the next school.

This would make sense Lax. The kid is already on campus and taking classes. Let him demonstrate that he belongs. What better proof could there be?

 

[wizards8507]

Shouldn't admission have an idea of who is/isn't planning on attending summer school classes and process those final transcripts first as high priority?

I'm sure they do, but do you really think the secretary in a high school councilor's office is going to "get right on that" sending out rush transcripts and whatnot just because the football coach from Notre Dame asked them nicely? You get one math teacher who's late grading his final exams and the entire thing goes to shit at no fault of anyone at Notre Dame.

Nobody knows what's going on. No need to get worked up about speculation. Wait until we find out.

Also this.

 

[IrishLax]

His Rivals profile says he got a 28. If that's true, there's no way it's the reason there were problems. I know a fencer who got into ND with a 23 and various players' other scores have been reported way lower without any issue. Didn't Isaiah McKenzie get like a 17?

He doesn't have a 28. It was academic. The end.

Or literally everyone who is NEVER wrong is wrong. I'm wrong a lot on my opinions. This isn't opinion, this is me going off what people are saying and there's no "I think" in what they've said.

Maybe they're all wrong. Maybe he got caught smoking reefer or something simple like that. But I doubt it. And we're never, ever going to get a full story.

Tee having doctored transcripts was called a "HIPPA" issue for crying out loud.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Someone posted that ISD was saying it was an academic issue. Was this from the staff or from posters on the board.