East Tennessee State guard Bo Hodges announced on Wednesday he’s headed for Butler University to continue his basketball career, where he will look the lift the Bulldogs back to the top of the Big East and into the NCAA Tournament. Since the Brad Stevens glory days, Butler has made it to the Sweet 16 just once, and they didn’t make the 2019 tournament for the first time, breaking a four-year streak. Hodges won’t be eligible immediately, but the 6’5 guard will be ready to play in 2021 for his final year of eligibility. He was an all-conference guard in the Southern Conference, averaging 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds. He led the Buccaneers to a 30-4 record and conference tournament title, although he was denied a chance to shine in March Madness due to coronavirus. Head Coach LaVall Jordan lauded Hodges’ versatility, particularly on offense, and he has a valuable asset for the future.
Arizona State punter Michael Turk regains NCAA Eligibility
In a very rare occurrence, the NCAA granted Arizona State punter Michael Turk his final two years of eligibility after the all-Pac 12 talent went undrafted and unsigned in the NFL Draft process. Turk has been an exceptional punter for the Sun Devils, leading the Pac-12 by averaging 46 yards per punt. In one game against Kent State, he set a record by averaging 63 yards on five punts, an NCAA record for a punter with a minimum of five attempts. Turk made headlines when he banged out an astounding 25 repetitions on the bench press at the NFL Combine, but he struggled in the punting drills. The pandemic denied him the chance at additional chances to impress scouts, which Turk used as his main argument in his appeal. In a slightly surprising move, the NCAA granted his appeal, although Turk will likely have to compete with Florida State graduate transfer Logan Tyler, the ACC leader in yards per punt (43.2).
OTHER HEADLINES
– Oklahoma State freshman football players told not to come to campus after players test positive for COVID-19 – Legendary Pitt and Tennessee football coach Johnny Majors passes away at age 85 – Missouri football players march in protests, register to vote – Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few announces he will not have any team activities on Election Day, to encourage his players to vote – Louisville athletes back on campus after quarantine
Many universities across the country have been facing financial hardships in their athletic department, with the lack of a spring sports season, and potential cancellation or delay of the fall sports season, threatening budgets and forcing college to make tough decisions. One such tough decision came from Bowling Green, who had announced that they, in response to a 2-million dollar shortfall in their budget, would be cutting the baseball program, whcih, by their estimates cost $750,000 a year to run. However, the Falcons were saved by an impressive donation campaign by their alumni and fanbase, which committed about 1.5 million dollars over the next three years, giving Bowling Green a temporary respite to their crisis. The Bowling Green athletic department officially reinstated the baseball team, and they’ve said they are currently pursuing potential long-term funding solutions, working with a select group of baseball alumni. The Falcons last made the NCAA Tournament in 2013, as they’ve struggled in their past few years in the MEAC.
ND-Navy Dublin game moved to Annapolis
For the first time in the lengthy history of the Notre Dame vs. Navy football rivalry, their annual clash on the gridiron will take place at Navy’s home stadium. Although the game has been played in Maryland on several occasions, it has always taken place at various naval bases. The 2020 match-up was originally scheduled to be their second ever meeting in Dublin, but the COVID-19 concerns caused those plans to be scratched. Long assumed to be moving stateside, it was announced on Tuesday that the Irish and Midshipmen will play in Annapolis for the first time ever. This makes the most sense as programs, and the NCAA as a whole, scramble to try and set up a feasible way for the season to proceed as scheduled.
Mountain West cuts several postseason tournaments
As part of an 18% reduction in their operating budget, the Mountain West Conference announced that they would be eliminating the postseason tournaments for baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s soccer, meaning that the regular season champions for those sports will represent the school in the NCAA Tournament. Swimming, Diving, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, and Golf were among the other postseason tournaments modified or shortened. Other cost-cutting methods included shortening baseball and softball series to two days, with a doubleheader, while the volleyball conference slate was reduced by two games.
Rising senior sprinter Tim McDonough started Thursday, May 28, as a Division 1 athlete with Brown University. However, that day, around noon, McDonough, and a group of athletes from eleven different Brown teams, were invited to an ‘important webinar’.
“When I signed in to the call, [athletic director] Jack Hayes gave a small preamble and then told us that all teams on the call were officially reduced to club status. Altogether the call lasted less than 10 minutes”.
Beyond the horrendously short notice and sharp delivery of the news, the worst part was that Brown’s stated reason for their cuts was their ‘excellence initiative’, a way for the Bears to stay more competitive in the Ivy League. Essentially: “Your team isn’t good enough. So we’re cutting you”. With a 2 billion dollar endowment, it’s hard to sympathize with the administration on the financial side of things, and at the very least, they must be held accountable for the abrupt announcement and horrible situation they have left their athletes in. The eleven teams cut were men’s and women’s fencing, men’s and women’s golf, women’s skiing, men’s and women’s squash, women’s equestrian and men’s indoor and outdoor track and cross country. The track and field team in particular has to wonder exactly what they have to do to be considered one of Brown’s competitive teams, and they’ve launched a social media campaign to plead their case. Just this past season, Brown boasted athletes that finished in the Ivy League top-5 in seven different events, including two in the weight throw. They have top-20 athletes in nearly every event. A year ago, Brown finished fifth as a team at the indoor track Ivy League championships, and they notched a third-place finish the year before that. Exactly what level of success was the Brown administration looking for?
Meanwhile, athletes, alumni, nor coaches were involved in this decision, or even warned of the impending demotion of their team. For those who couldn’t make the Zoom call on such short notice, they found out from teammates or even other friends: “I didn’t find out about the team being cut until my friend on the gymnast team sent me a message telling me how sorry she was”, rising sophomore javelin thrower Kevin Fairchild said, “I asked about what, and then she dropped the news to me”. Rising junior sprinter Alex Wilson echoed those sentiments: ““This news was very disheartening for us as athletes because it was delivered in an untimely manner with no forewarning and with little to no transparency from the administration”.
Meanwhile, Brown’s follow-up to the stunning announcement has been paltry and unsatisfactory to their athletes, who feel they have virtually no options besides transferring. McDonough referred to another call hosted by the athletic department to answer questions, but they would only accept questions that they wanted to hear: “Some track athletes did attend the call and expressed anger that the athletic department seemed to want us to transfer. People left the call saying that they felt even more disrespected than they had the day before when the cuts were announced” McDonough said, “During that call, all athletes were put on mute and were required to type questions to the athletic department liaison. The liaisons refused to acknowledge any questions about why the decision was made, only discussing the transfer process”.
So for all returning Brown athletes, the message was essentially transfer, or end your track career.
The idea of transferring, especially for rising seniors like McDonough, is an emotional one. McDonough gave up a full Air Force ROTC scholarship in order to continue competing on the track team after his freshman season. “It is not an understatement to say that Brown Track has defined my college experience. I can say that my teammates and coaches have shaped me as a person, and I am better for it.”
Then there’s the freshmen this past season, who barely got a chance to compete for their university, before finding out the end of their program had been in the makings since before their commitment to the university. Fairchild said of this: “The track team has been my family since the first day I walked onto campus. The reason I even considered going to Brown was because of the program. I chose this team because I felt it was my best shot at progressing to the next level. I’m only an outdoor season athlete, so I never got a chance to show what I can produce. Never got to represent the institution I used to love”.
Track is a major reason many of these athletes choose to attend Brown. In interviews with several incoming recruits and current Brown athletes, the theme was the same – they chose Brown Track because of the family culture that is present within the team, and the chance to combine a premier education while competing at the Division I level. Ivy League schools have notoriously low transfer rates, even for athletes, and so the possibility of these athletes getting a similar experience elsewhere is slim at best. Their so-called “Excellence-Initiative” has prematurely ended careers, forced athletes and students to transfer, and, beyond that, endangered the careers of incoming recruits.
“I committed to Brown because I felt that I had access to both a world-class education and exceptional athletics”, Kelley said, ““I am extremely disappointed in the timing and the abrupt nature of this decision by Brown University. There is no phase out period to allow me to compete as I had been promised and to give me the opportunity to sort out plans to transfer to an institution that would allow me to compete”.
The women’s team is also greatly affected by this decision: A post from Brown’s official Sprints and Hurdles Instagram read: “Men and Women in this sport work as a team. This team trains together, eats together, and travels together. Mean and women in this sport are truly equal; they are co-captains, training partners, and family”.
So while the women’s team may continue to compete at the D1 level, they’re losing a major part of their family-like culture and community. Incoming women’s sprinter Cecilia Marrinan spoke about that: “Choosing Brown was easy. The track team possessed a strong camaraderie and positive culture…it was clear from the start that this team operated as one unit. I was eager to be a part of that family” Marrinan said, “I feel betrayed that my dreams of being a part of one big family have been ripped away from me before I even got to Brown. This decision affects the women’s team immeasurably. I would not have chosen Brown if I knew that the administration would treat their athletes with such disregard. You cannot rip family apart and still expect excellence”.
Kelley has contacted several other Ivy League teams, only to be told that, while sympathetic for his situation, they could not give him a spot on such short notice. Thus Kelley’s options are either to take a gap year to retain eligibility, or to compete at the club level for a year and transfer. Either way, transitioning back to a D1 level will be exceptionally difficult, and Kelley and his fellow Brown commits are faced with the difficult decision that could have easily been prevented by Hayes or anyone else in charge of this decision.
According to them, the decision has been in the works for two years; two years, and they couldn’t so much as warn the coaches or athletes? Two years isn’t a financial emergency – if it was, alumni would have been contacted, and that generous endowment could have been utilized. Rather, it was a slow and deliberate decision to not only cut eleven programs, but to leave their athletes with barely any course of action. “They robbed me of my college experience, and they’ve put a serious roadblock in my career”, Fairchild said.
Whether it was a lengthy admissions and recruiting process that led recruits to eventually choosing Brown, or current athletes with years of developing a tight bond with their track family, this decision has sent core parts of their life into upheaval.
Jack Hayes knew about it for two years. But all he gave his athletes was ten minutes this past Thursday to let them know that their entire careers have been disrupted and possibly ended.
It’s unacceptable, and sets a horrific precedent for athletic administrations cutting teams for ‘excellence initiatives’ with zero regard for the effect it has on the athletes within those programs. Hold them accountable. To help Brown’s athletes with their campaign, share this on social media and use the hashtags #oneBruno and #SaveBrownTrack to promote their effort to reverse the university’s decision.
Thank you to all the Brown athletes and recruits who told their story for this article. You can help them at both of the following links. A Petition:
It’s slim pickings for daily headlines today, as there’s been a lull in the recruiting action on the gridiron, and if there’s anything to talk about in the sports world, it’s the current efforts of the NBA and NHL resuming their season this summer.
Daily Headlines
Aggies and Longhorns revive series on the hardwood
There’s been a lot of discussion about Texas and Texas A&M resuming their fierce rivalry on the gridiron, but while we have to wait for further news on that, the two schools did announce they would be meeting again on the basketball court, as their women’s basketball teams were announced as opponents in the Big 12/SEC challenge. It may not be the clash of titans hoped for by football fans, but their contests have provided some excellent competition in the past, although they have’t met on the court since 2014. The Longhorns have had more success in the series, winning four straight and owning a 62-23 record against the Aggies, but their in-state rivals have had more success on the national level recently. They won the national title in 2011, whereas Texas has not been to the Final Four since 2003, reaching only one Elite Eight in that time frame (2016). This match-up, regardless of the sport, is a classic rivalry, and we can only hope this game serves as the springboard for more contests between the two teams, both in women’s basketball and across other sports.
Other Headlines
NCAA offers detailed plan for athletes’ return to campus by June 8
Power-5 Leagues continue to push for athlete compensation law, but they have not had a breakthrough.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby is optimistic for a full college football season and an on-time start
Minnesota to not use Minnesota Police for major sporting events after George Floyd tragedy
Luka Garza yet to make decision on NBA Draft, five days before his deadline to decide
College Kids Talking College Sports 