From: SCHMIDT@LSTC2VM.stortek.com (Jon Schmidt)
Subject: Re: ANYONE INTERESTED IN GATORS' SCHEDULE
Organization: StorageTek SW Engineering
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 00:15:14 GMT

Jason Fawcett writes:
>
>How do you expect from a coach that takes away fifth year QB's
>(i.e. Brian Fox ) scholarships one hour before the start of gator spring
>practice. Brian was the back up QB for the last two years, and could have
>started the Sugar Bowl last year if Shane was still hurt. The scholarship
>was used on a new member of the incoming class.  The NCAA take another big
>step towards professional football.
>
>Brian Fox said "  I feel I can contribute, at least as much as one of
>the QB's who is going to be red-shirted.  I've been a good student and
>haven't missed a practice. I still don't understand what went into his
>decision."  In 1988 Brian Fox won the Big Ten Freshman of the year honors
>at Purdue before transferring to Florida.  Fox was beaten out in 1990 by
>Shane Matthews.
 
First, a short refresher on the mechanics of football scholarships.  Any
athletic scholarship must be limited in duration to ONE academic year.
Once a scholarship is offered and accepted, it remains in effect for the
entire academic year (assuming no athlete misconduct) despite poor
perfomance on the field or injury.  The school decides every year
whether or not to RENEW the scholarship for another one-year period and
this decision CAN be based on athletics abilities and performance.  The
athlete must be notified of the renewal decision by the financial aid
office in writing before July 1;  the notification cannot come from the
athletic department.  Athletic scholarships are essentially a series of
one-year contracts where the option of renewing is held by the school.
Athletic scholarships have worked this way for years.  What's new this
year is the total number of football scholarships allowed.  Each
Division I-A school is limited to a total of 92 football scholarships
this coming season (down from 95 last season), of which no more than 25
may be 'initial' (i.e. first time) scholarships.  The allowed total
number of football scholarships will fall to 88 in the 93-94 academic
year, and then to 85 for subsequent years.
 
Now, let's look at the Gator situation.  Steve Spurrier was named head
coach at Florida on 12/31/89.  This fall's incoming freshman class
represents only the 2nd class which he has recruited for Florida.  It
should not surprise anyone that he would want to offer the maximum
number of 'initial' scholarships this spring in order to meet the talent
needs of his offense and defense, which are quite different from those
of Charlie Pell, the previous head coach.  Usually, some 'initial'
scholarships go unused (e.g. the offeree selects some other school or is
unable to qualify academically).  However, this spring, Spurrier
recruited an outstanding class and, as near as I can determine from out
here, all 25 'initial' scholarships were offered and accepted.  Having
already irrevocably committed 25 of his football scholarships to
incoming freshman by early spring, Spurrier then had no choice but to
not renew the scholarship of a current player in order to meet the new
NCAA total limit of 92 scholarships for next season.
 
Brian Fox seems a logical choice for nonrenewal - a 5th year senior
whose QB abilities have shown little improvement the last two years.  If
Shane had been unable to start the Sugar Bowl last year, Fox might have
started (experience) but I expect Terry Dean (better pass completion
percentage than Fox last year) would have seen more playing time.  I
think Dean would have supplanted Fox in the backup QB role this year
anyhow, so I don't think Fox was going to "contribute, at least as much
as one of the QB's who is going to be red-shirted."  I'd much prefer to
have that red-shirted QB on the team for the next 4 years than Brian Fox
for one more mediocre year.
 
I don't recall exactly why the NCAA is reducing football scholarships.
I guess the rule might reduce football deficits at some of the smaller
schools but it's not going to help those schools become more competitive
with the big-time football schools.  Steve Spurrier may have been the
first to break the tradition of 5 years of scholarship for football
players, but I guarantee that he won't be the last.  It's obvious that
any team that forgoes this tradition will ultimately enjoy an advantage
over any team that is forced by tradition to reduce its recruiting
classes in order to carry 5th year seniors on scholarship who have never
played a down.  I seriously doubt that Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia
will concede this type of advantage to the Gators.
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college