NCAA denies UConn's waiver for 2013 NCAA tournament
by Andrew Porter on Feb 10, 2012 5:41 PM EST
in UConn Huskies Basketball
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PrintUConn's dream of back-to-back-to-back national championships took what appears to be a near fatal blow today when the NCAA announced that they have denied UConn's request for a waiver to appear in the 2013 postseason. Under current rules it is mathematically impossible for the Huskies to comply with NCAA Academic Progress Report guidelines in time to be eligible for the 2013 tournament. The rule change was made official in October, but the Huskies are unable to fit its retroactive requirements.
The next step for the Huskies is to appeal their waiver request to an NCAA sub-committee, though I can't think of a reason that that result would be any more favorable.
The Huskies might also be able to qualify for the tournament if the NCAA decides to calculate the APR guidelines using numbers from December 2012. That decision won't be made for at least a few weeks, and possibly a few months, so it's not something UConn can rely on.
This would be devastating news for any program, but it is especially crippling for UConn. It will almost certainly encourage any NBA prospects on UConn's roster who had even the slightest doubt about staying to leave for the pros. Recruiting will certainly be hurt as well. Most importantly, Jim Calhoun, who is currently out on medical leave, would have to coach well into his 70s to get the program back to a position of strength. Realistically if he wants to hand off his program in anything close to its usually strong state it would probably require him coaching through the 2014 or maybe even 2015, at which point he'll be 71 or 72.
Today's ruling wasn't a death penalty, but it was damn close.
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UConn's best bet
is the most-recent data scenario which will be discussed by the NCAA in a couple of weeks and decided at some point this Spring.
That’s probably the best case for all parties involved. UConn would qualify, the NCAA wouldn’t have to issue a waiver and the NCAA would get to look tough on academics.
Im not as pessimistic as you
I do believe this will be a significant blow to the program for a few years, but we were going to have transition years after Calhoun retired anyways. With the new facility coming and hopefully a good hire we’ll be back to our normal state in a few years.
Can we have one year that isn't either
wildly successful or soul-crushingly depressing?
In the past four years, we’ve seen Final Four, worst team ever on and off the court, a national title, and now this. It’s all making me a little bit nauseous, as is the utter futility of that 2006-07 freshman class to live up to even the most basic expectations.
I’m even starting to feel like Calhoun should step aside after this season for the good of the program, and let us move on to the next step.
"I don't get defeated by things." - James A. Calhoun
ug, just tired of the haters
Herbst looks like an administrator that will hold a high standard, she wasn’t here when this all went down.
I see our plan and it looks like real reform…
Almost gets my conspiracy juices flowing… they are mad we won last year when they thought they smacked down the Coach… now they are going to sink the ship as an example…
call me at 1-800-328-7448! and really, have a NICE day!
I don't even think they're conspiracy theories anymore
Based on what I’ve read from national columnists (Forde, O’Neill, etc.) and my screaming match with the Day’s Mike DiMaurio today on Twitter (@BCGenius…hilarious), I think mainstream media opinion is pretty transparently: UConn deserves this because they just do.
I understand (though strongly disagree with) the line of thinking that Calhoun keeps avoiding the brunt of punishment and should finally get what he deserves—but if that’s the case, fucking say that. Don’t re-create the narrative to one where UConn isn’t getting punished by an ex-post-facto rule. They are. If you want to argue that the retroactive punishment is a technicality and they deserve it anyway, fine. Say that. Don’t just pretend it isn’t happening.
But hey, at least the team can’t shoot.
/ranty rant rant rant
/heads on over to check out the Twitter battle
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
Read his article
He gets it a little better than others, but still…. WHOOSH on the breaking the rules thing.
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
What a tool.
Half of his tweets are about how smart and successful BC’s alums are. Except, I suppose, the ones who write bitchy columns for sixth-rate newspapers.
Sounds like a certain blogger I know.
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
He does get it a little better
And the crux of his argument—that Calhoun should be held personally accountable for his programs’ academic failings—is a fairly rational one. I would argue that the NCAA emphasis on presidential involvement is designed to guard against coaches from being the most culpable actor in this scenario (though not so the HC can push blame onto the AD as is the case here, but to encourage institutional collaboration, which UConn clearly has since Herbst’s arrival).
That said, I still think it’s a fair argument and one he would be more than justified in making, if he were to acknowledge the given circumstances. Instead he twisted the narrative into, “UConn knew the rules, they broke them and now they get what’s coming to them.” Instead of, “UConn knew the rules, but the punishments in place at the time weren’t stringent enough.”
To his credit, that’s what Jeff Jacobs did this morning.
Agreed
I said the same about Jacobs in this morning’s links post.
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
Back to back to back???
hahaha that’s pretty hilarious considering the way UCONN is playing this year
you doubt?
I say we’ve been here before
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2011/3/5/2032090/notre-dame-70-uconn-67-a-very-short-march-in-the-offing
Yeah! The guy who wrote that was such an asshole.
"I don't get defeated by things." - James A. Calhoun
by Kevin Meacham on Feb 10, 2012 7:01 PM EST up reply actions
It is going to be so awesome when we beat Cuse tomorrow
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
by derbyguy on Feb 10, 2012 7:08 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
For as HAM as last year was for all sports
Man has this year been depressing
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
by derbyguy on Feb 10, 2012 7:09 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I'm running into some math issues, would like some help if anyone could
So we know that the single season APR for ‘08-’09 was 844 and ‘09-’10 was 826. I would like to know what the APR’s for the other season’s are. The NCAA site only has the rolling averages, so if anyone else knows where to get that information would be great.
I have enough information, or at least I should, between the website and the two known APR’s to calculate all of the individual yearly APRs. But they aren’t balancing out like they should. If someone wouldn’t mind going through the calculations to see if they have issues as well it would be much appreciated. Below is the relevant data.
Let me know what you get for each of the variables.
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
Uggh
Found individual year numbers. Stupid Google having answers. Although these numbers don’t really jive with the “rolling averages” presented on the NCAA site…
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
Ok so based upon those numbers here are the missed points for the past few years
Next task is to link up those missed points with the players who transferred, plus Nate Miles. But that’s for another day.
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
The real killers are
Darius Smith and Jonathan Mandledove, both of whom left in bad standing in the same year. Just brutal.
by Andrew Porter on Feb 10, 2012 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
As I Recall
Mandledove and Smith were both 0 for 2s. The 0-2s, coupled with the low score were the reason UConn was docked scholarships as a first time APR violator. (According to this Borges blog post.)
Mandledove (I guess) simply failed out and left w/o graduating. Smith transferred in bad academic standing to the College if Southern Idaho, a 2 year college. Transferring in bad standing and transferring to 2-year schools are both point penalties.
I believe Jamaal Trice (remember him?) was a 1-2. He transferred (possibly in bad academic standing) to Appalaichan State. I know last season the only nick on UConn’s resume was JCM transferring. He was not eligible for the full point waiver because his GPA was too low but he received most of the available points because he finished his coursework and left in good academic standing despite the low GPA.
All this shit makes my head spin, and it’s tough to find reliable info because the school can’t legally release the kids grades.
Dove and Smith hurt, but there had to be some others costing points as well because they don’t add up to the 8 points we got docked that year.
The other issue is that except for 06-07 we didn’t have the highest amount of possible points (52). Which makes each docked point have a bigger impact.
Get well soon Coach!
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
FIRE DeLEONE
Eat a bagel (like a mumu)
#TeamKuechly
1967: Embrace it
The thing is...
Calhoun said publicly that the only reason he didn’t retire last year after the championship was because he wanted to do the right thing and serve his punishment for the NCAA violations. If he were the slime ball, seedy coach he’s been presented as he would’ve run as soon as possible, or even retired after ’09.
?
Most everyone here covered the ground I wanted to, but all I keep thinking is:
1. Doesn’t it seem like the NCAA moved the goalposts on us? and
B. I still have a hard time believing that UConn is the only school that has had a problem with athletes leaving the school in good academic standing. I’m not doubting we deserve punishment, because a lot of people, Calhoun in particular, were asleep at the switch, but you mean to tell me that no one else has this problem? There are schools that have many more athletes leaving school early for the pros, and you mean to tell me that they went to class right to the end? Curious.
Either way, you’d think that there’d be some kind of middle ground the NCAA and UConn could find where the NCAA could get their pound of flesh, and UConn can not get the equivalent of the death penalty. Of course, that scenario assumes that the NCAA isn’t a two-faced bag of douchenozzle window lickers.
2011 InterUniversal College Pick 'Em Champion. Ask around. I'm the best.
The guys leaving early usually aren't the problem
the real issue is guys who are transferring/kicked out who have no stake in the team, see: Darius Smith and Jonathan Mandledove, who both left in the same year, which made their departures doubly painful. If you spread your washouts out over several years it doesn’t hurt nearly as bad.
And the middle ground you refer to is UConn’s best strategy going forward: keep the same academic requirements, but count the most recent data (i.e. December 2012), under which UConn will qualify.
by Andrew Porter on Feb 11, 2012 10:26 AM EST up reply actions
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