The group that is being forgotten in all this, are the regular students. By moving a player onto academic scholarship you put regular students at a disadvantage who could use that scholarship money.
Like virtually all private universities, ND admits kids based on a large number of factors-- academics, extra-curricular activities, race, region, etc. Athletic ability is simply one of several viable factors they consider. If a kid gets recruited based on athletic ability, and later turns out to be noncompetitive, transferring him to an academic scholarship (if it's even possible) doesn't cause the university to reject another student with better academic credentials. And depending on how the scholarship is setup, it doesn't take scholarship money away from such a kid either.
Kids get rejected from the University to make room for athletes, which is fine, because the athletes deserve to be at ND just as much as other students. But, at what point does becoming "elite" (some may argue we already are) hurt the rest of the University and student body.
When did this conversation become about admissions?
It is also not fair to the player. They committed to play football in college. They want that to be a part of their experience, surely. Maybe they can't crack the depth chart at ND, but maybe they could at another school and still stand a chance at the NFL. I have no doubt that some of the elite SEC rejects could make it.
What were they promised? ND guarantees a 4-year scholarship. Play time obviously isn't guaranteed, and if you can't break the 2-deep at ND, you don't have a future in the NFL. They can always transfer if play time is important to them.
Beyond that, what if the player does not want to go through the transfer process. Then they are stuck at ND with no hopes of living their dream. Sure, they will get a great degree. But will they still get the same help football players get? They may not get the help they need to succeed if they are no longer in the program.
You have some very strange views of what ND "owes" its student athletes.
The hang-up is going to be getting a student qualified for the academic scholarship. I think we underestimate just how much easier that is at an SEC school than at Notre Dame. I'll give you LSU as an example, since I know the Louisiana system better. If you have an ACT score of 22 or SAT of 940 (along with a few academic requirements that any NCAA athlete would meet), you're qualified for a full, 4-year scholarship to LSU as part of Louisiana's TOPS program. If you're from out of state, the requirement jumps to a 23 or equivalent SAT. At Notre Dame, you wouldn't even get past the first round of application reviews with those numbers, let alone qualify for a full scholarship. Notre Dame's typical incoming student has a 31-34 ACT.
A few schools have posted the NCAA rules on this topic. Here's one from WSU (the subsection titled "Counters" has most of the important info):
Link
Interesting. So it looks like NCAA regulations make this sort of thing possible at large public universities with lower standards, but impossible at elite private institutions like ND and Stanford. Yet another competitive disadvantage for us.
Part of the bargain is player development by the coaching staff. If a player doesn't develop to expectations, a portion of the blame certainly falls on the players shoulders however the coaching staff also has accountability in that. As a coach, it is your responsibility to put players in a position to succeed, work to their strengths and build a better team, you have to live up to that responsibility when building these young men into adults.
We are after all talking about 18-22 year olds who are still developing. Quiting on someone is not OK once you've made a committment.
Again, really tortuous reasoning here regarding what ND "owes" its student athletes. ND offers them a degree, and they agree to come and play football for the Irish. Once it becomes clear that a player has no reasonable hope of seeing the field at ND, they aren't being cheated of anything if their scholarship is transferred to an academic one. What value does that "development" have for a player like Luke Massa?
^ This. I thought every ND fan was aware and proud of the fact they don't let morons in their school no matter how good they are. I hope this never changes. It woul completely ruin my comeback to all my friends when they but my ba**s when ND loses. ND players know their times tables!
Who's talking about lowering admissions standards?
By keeping up the school's part of the bargain, it depends on what the coaches tell the recruit. Do they promise, "you will have four years of free top-notch education at Notre Dame." Or do they promise, "you will play football for four years and get a free top-notch education at Notre Dame."
Why would they promise four years of football? There are a whole host of issues-- injury, academic issues, etc.-- that prevent kids from playing all four years. I'd be very surprised if anything but a 4-year scholarship is being promised. And even that promise is conditional on the player maintaining decent grades, staying out of trouble, etc.
