The Blue Board

http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsAcademicPrograms/sportsblog.aspx?id=16523&BlogID=32328

"Notional" Letter of Intent: College Football Offers More Than It Can Deliver, Part 1

By: Justin N. Fielkow

This week, young men across the country signed their National Letters of Intent, a momentous occasion and tremendous achievement in their lives. Unfortunately, for some, both the process and the conclusion will not be what they envisioned. This is the first of a three-part series that will analyze the National Letter of Intent system and the concept of oversigning in major college football. This post will provide a general introduction to the history and rules governing the National Letter of Intent and the doctrine of oversigning in college football. Part Two will then analyze the legality and potential remedies of oversigning, including a promissory estoppel cause of action and breach of contract claim. Finally, Part Three will put the ethics and morality of the practice of oversigning, as it relates to the current world of big-money college football, on figurative trial.

Introduction to Oversigning: How It Works and How It Fails

With nothing more than a wish and a prayer that a university will honor its scholarship offer to a prospective student-athlete, countless young men, such as Elliot Porter, have their verbal commitments vanish into thin air due to the unsavory practice of oversigning.1 Elliot Porter received a scholarship offer to play football at Louisiana State University in the summer of 2009. In July, Porter was one of the first verbal commitments to LSU's 2010 recruiting class.2 In February 2010, Porter signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) with LSU, qualified academically, enrolled early, reported to summer school in June 2010, and started taking classes.3 Yet, after misjudging how many of his academically shaky signees would qualify and reaching the maximum 25-new-player scholarship limit, head coach Les Miles informed Porter that there was no room for him on scholarship at LSU.4 Porter was granted a release from his Letter of Intent and instead accepted a scholarship at the University of Kentucky.5 Porter disliked Kentucky and returned to LSU, where he is now a walk-on paying his own way for two years before he can finally get the football scholarship LSU promised him as a high school senior.6

Porter's situation is not unique. Often, the unlikely-to-contribute players at the bottom of an incoming class are asked to "grayshirt," dutifully delaying their enrollment (or paying their way for a semester), until there is room for them in the next class, regardless of what a coach promised them during their recruitment or the fact that they signed an NLI. Additionally, every year "thousands" of high school seniors find themselves scrambling for scholarships after coaches simply rescind non-binding scholarship offers because they found more talented players and are forced to comply with the NCAA's signing limits.7

Part 2
http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsAcademicPrograms/sportsblog.aspx?id=16539&BlogID=32328

Part 3
http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsAcademicPrograms/sportsblog.aspx?id=16570&BlogID=32328

Sadly, the Elliot Porter situation does nothing to deter Miles and other coaches from continuing the practice of over signing. In fact, it strengthens it. It's a no-lose situation for Miles.

Miles yanks the scholarship from Porter but ultimately ends up with a higher rated recruit AND Porter. If Porter is good enough to start, Miles will gladly give him a scholarship because he's a known commodity. If he doesn't work out, Miles never wastes a scholarship on him, and the kid either remains a walk-on or leaves LSU. Either way, Miles wins.

Growing gap? Hahhaa ha!

I would love for the NCAA to make each scholarship good for four years like the Big Ten does. The SEC coaches wouldn't know what to do.

Not crying, I just think it's funny that you guys could possibly have 24 WRs on your roster. Think about that.

I guess he wants to roll with a 6 deep depth chart at every WR position. Hey, he's a good coach and he can do whatever he wants, but when you do that, something is going to be thin. It's just the way it is.

I totally disagree with this. What is wrong with back counting and whatnot and making players earn their scholarships? No matter how good the talen evaluation is, not every player signed is going to pan out. If you limit teams to 23 like you stated, you also cost lots of kids scholarships and chances to go to college. Those players that many bitch about being processed still have a free ride to college. What's wrong with that?

Don't bring facts in here. The rantards can't handle it.

You should guarantee the scholarship for 4 years where a school simply can't cut the kids who aren't getting it done on the field. You also shouldn't be able to sign 35 guys knowing that some won't make it. I have no problem with "back signing" or greyshirting, but signing too many kids and then telling some that there wasn't enough room WAY after signing day is BS.

So there's nothing wrong to you to accept 50 verbals but on LOI day only sending out 25 and telling the other 25 kids at that point to fvck off?

No ethical problems involved there?

That's BS in my opinion. If you don't perform, you get your scholarship cut. I had an academic scholarship cut for not performing, why should it be different with football. You're getting a free education. You can stay on the team, just not on scholarship.

The difference is, I imagine your academic scholarship wasn't pulled because the soon to be rhodes scholar at a nearby high school decided to go to your school. I'm sure you had to maintain a certain GPA, and you knew what had to be done.

Or did they tell you, sorry we brought in a great freshmen class that raised the curve higher than what you were told. So even though we told you to maintain a 3.5 and you did, regretfully the retroactive standard is 3.7. Good luck finding an academic schollie as a transfer. Don't let the library door hit you on the way out.

It's too bad so many of these good kids down south get taken advantage of. One of these days, a pissed of father will deck Saban or the like, and it will be completely deserved.