YES they can and WILL pull athletic scholarship offers…recently, one of the athletes I work with had their scholarship offer pulled.
It is a GUT WRENCHING story. This athlete has been courted by Western Michigan since last spring. The head coach personally invited him up to their summer football camp, and even asked him come up a bit early so the coach could show him around the campus.
He went to the camp, and had an OUTSTANDING camp! Towards the end of the camp the coaches told him how high they were on him, and that he should be expecting a scholarship offer soon. They simply wanted to get the coaches in a room and review the kids they liked at camp.
Shortly thereafter, the coaches told him, “We REALLY like you, and we just want to see some senior film on you.” By the way, this athlete plays for one of the top high school football programs in the country, so he goes out and lights it up in his early games of his senior season.
He sends Western Michigan game film, they review it, and soon send him a letter SIGNED by the head coach stating that they are offering him a football scholarship. Now it is NOT an OFFICIAL NLI (National Letter of Intent), but the kid is elated. He tells ALL the other schools that were recruiting him (one of them a BIG TEN school), that he has made his final decision, and he appreciates them recruiting him.
Done deal, right? Signed letter by the coach on the school’s letterhead…one would think this is a done deal. I am going to Western Michigan.
Well, as this athlete is preparing to take his team to a state title, the Western Michigan recruiting coach makes a visit to his high school, and then calls the dad to let him know that they are pulling his son’s scholarship…BRUTAL! The dad is floored, and the coach says it is due to a character conflict…total GARBAGE! Character conflict? You have been recruiting this athlete for the past 9 months, and you “suddenly” determine that he has a “character conflict?” C’mon…tell the kid the TRUTH Western Michigan.
There are several things to speculate here, and one of them is that possibly Western Michigan found an IN-STATE player that they wanted to offer so they could save a few bucks…I realize times are tough these days but YOUR WORD is YOUR WORD, right? APPARENTLY, not in college football recruiting!
It never ceases to amaze me what can happen in the world of college football recruiting. You are talking about a young man’s future, and these coaches play with it like it is no big deal.
We are praying that this is a blessing in disguise and this athlete will end up at a place MUCH BETTER than Western Michigan. The saddest thing is that the student-athlete based much of his decision on how much he loved the coaches at Western Michigan…I guess the only character flaw the student-athlete had is that he wasn’t able to see the LACK of character in the Western Michigan coaching staff.
If you have any similar stories, please, share them in the comments section. These are the kind of stories that can help families learn the good, the bad and the ugly of the world of college recruiting.
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How about it was a recently developing issue or just something that the staff is just finding out? Did the kid get into any trouble in school? Starting to get a case of senior-itis? Also is it the high-school coach or WMU’s coach who said it was a character issue? If it’s the HS coach then the question could be did the kid’s decision get passed along to WMU’s coaches? Maybe they didn’t get the message and have gone with another player because from their view the kid waited too long?
This story sounds a little fishy. Maybe the kid got into a lot of trouble his senior year. Maybe the kid didn’t commit to WMU because he was waiting for a better offer. Who knows? Do YOU know? I’m guessing not.
Bobby Bowden was sent down from the planet Quirzek7 to run the FSU program. Jim Tressell was once in the KGB. Charlie Weiss was a dance instructor before he took up coaching. Tim Tebow is really 30 yeears old, and the Florida program groomed him for 10 years after high school before allowing him to play.
See, I can make up stuff, too. You provided NO details, only speculation. No names, no dates, no details. I can do this same level of ‘reporting’. Actually, a 3rd grader can. THIS is the type of garbage that leads to people getting fired, when there are no facts to back up these claims.
What is the kid’s name?
I can tell you for a fact that this “story” is complete BS. We’re talking about a coaching staff with a well documented reputation for being straight shooters during the recruiting process. In fact most of the players they land come to WMU specifically because the coaches are honest with them and don’t play the stupid games most college coaches play. With a coaching staff that routinely puts character ahead of talent when scouting players, you think, just maybe, they were telling the truth about this kid having character issues? God forbid a coaching staff with a reputation of honesty was actually telling the truth.
Alex, due to the fact that he is a minor I am not going to release his name. Thanks for the comment!
Tommyboy, it was WMU’s coach that stated he had a character flaw. No, the student did not get into any trouble at school, and he is leading his team to a state championship…so I don’t think it was a case of senior-itis. WMU had sent the player a letter signed by the coach stating they had offered him a scholarship, and he committed right away. Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it.
Jimmy, I wish the story was complete BS, and the reason the student chose WMU was because of the coaching staff. He LOVED the staff at WMU. The biggest character issue I have heard from this story is within the WMU coaching staff…when the recruiting coach was at his school he did not even meet with the student-athlete face-to-face to let him know they were going to pull his scholarship offer. Instead he had to find out from his dad. Seems to me the RIGHT thing to do was for the coach to tell the kid to his face. Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it.
Scot, I LOVE your sense of humor, and I am purposefully omitting specific details because the student-athlete is a minor. I am not sure where you live, and if you are in the mid-west, I am certain that you will hear something about this story. Especially, if you are an avid follower of WMU football. The WMU sports relations department was supposed to run a story on this young man very soon…the story will probably not run for obvious reason. I really appreciate your comment, and if you have any more info on the situation please let me know. Even though I am only in 2nd grade, I want to make sure that I am accurately sharing information.
George, as far as I know, as soon as the student-athlete got the letter from the head coach on WMU letterhead stating that they were offering him a full ride scholarship, he committed to WMU. He ended all other communication with schools. Now he is forced to re-ignite his recruiting process late in the game. Also, as far as I know, he has not been in any trouble this year. He is playing in his game this Friday, and I have gotta presume that if he was in any trouble he would not be playing in the playoffs. Thanks for the comment. I really appreciate it.
I just want to say that I am the athlete who had this happen. I have had no troubles with school or the law. I have the most sacks and tackles on the team so senior itis doesn’t come close to the issue. My scholarship was taken from me due to the fact I might become home sick like other players in the past at WMU and because my passion wasn’t good enough when they watched film on me. These are the reasons why it occured and I hope that no one else has to go through this because now I have to start the whole recruiting process over in November and I have lost all connections with other colleges after I “comitted” to WMU. And the date was 11/17/09.
Chris – is Spencer Holloway coming to your rescue to validate your story? If so, kudos to Spencer. However, how VERY inappropriate. I hope you didn’t approach him to have him do it.
Chris, you’ve written a hit piece naming a university and implicating unethical action. You use the athlete’s age as a reason for not providing more details – which is fine. Then the athlete comes on here to defend you – which is something he should NEVER have to do. Do you have ANY sense of professionalism? The ethical problems are everywhere with this story. First – you singling out one university for doing something that is frequently done. Then hiding behind your athlete’s age. Now having that athlete step up to defend you. You, sir, should be ashamed. If you want to educate potential student athletes, then write this story without naming WMU, without throwing out ridiculous theories, and with a modest amount of professionalism.
Spencer, I sincerely hope you haven’t paid Chris any money for the service he provides. God Bless you and I’m sure you’ll land on your feet. Best of luck as you progress in your academic and athletic career. If you play WMU, I hope you step up big and prove the coaching staff wrong.
Scot, thanks for your comments, and it is unfortunate that you jump to conclusions as you question my “professionalism.” I didn’t even know Spencer read this piece. He chose to post his comment on his own accord just like he chose to commit to WMU on his own accord. I believe the average parent and student-athlete is smart enough to realize that this happens from time to time (not “frequently” as you state), so if you feel like I am disparaging a particular university in this post then I apologize for that. That was and is not my intent…I am simply writing a piece to educate people on how things work out there in the athletic recruiting world, and since according to you “it is frequently done” it should not be a disparagement in any way…simply stating what happened. If you have specific information that can shed MORE TRUTH on the situation, not your conclusions, then I would appreciate you sharing them. Thank you.
This was a very regrettable and unfair article. I know Coach Cubit and I know his program. He is WIDELY recognized for being not only a straight shooter but honest to the extreme when talking to recruits. He never promises more than he’s willing to deliver on, unlike many college coaches.
As for Mr. Holloway, I don’t know the facts behind this occurrence. But I note you added hyphens when you indicated you’d “commited” to the program. Offers are often extended, but if the coaching staff doesn’t get a hard-copy LOI signed, sealed and delivered they are not obligated to take a recruit. Things happen. Last season WMU believed right up to the first day of LOI’s we were going to get two superb DB’s in Florida-they ended up signing with CFU. Way it goes. WMU may have gotten a formal LOI on paper from some other recruit who filled the bill while you delayed signing? Not knowing the facts, that’s possible.
All I know is if WMU made an offer to Mr. Holloway they were absolutely sincere about it. And if he signed that LOI and returned it, they were obligated to take him. Apparently that didn’t happen, so there really is no reason to get unpleasant about it. You need to jump on an offer once it’s extended, not play the recruiting game and hope something better comes along. WMU has seen that happen to many times to us to wait forever for a recruit to ‘make up his mind’.
Philly- if WMU did not like how it felt to have someone give them their word to come play football there but decide different then why do it to someone else. I had stopped talking to every other college and was not playing the recruiting game. I gave my word to WMU and they did to, well i thought they did. So for them to pull something like this when it happened to them last year… very unproffesional for Coach Cubit and the whole WMU staff in my opinion.
Chris – your standard of professionalism is evident in your own writing. I need not jump to any conclusions about it.
Spencer – not sure what happened, but I wish you nothing but the best. Get excited for your next opportunity, regardless of where it is. This is one of the most exciting times in your life! Don’t let this pothole in the road ruin your overall experience. You appear to be a very bright young man, I look forward to watching your progress.
Who is this guy Scott? I’ve never heard of him. What are his credentials? Anyone can whip up a little website like this and post inflammatory stuff with the
Who is this guy Scott? I’ve never heard of him. What are his credentials? Anyone can whip up a little website like this and post inflammatory stuff with the CAPS BUTTON ON FOR EMPHASIS, even though it’s as aggravating as the CONTENT, which is not attributed in any meaningful way.
Good luck to the young athlete wherever he goes.
Senior-itis has nothing to do with on field play, it’s not working hard in the class room your senior year. Generally attributed to feeling that you are going to graduate no matter what happens, especially when concrete plans have been laid for next year (ie college).
I have a 3.6 gpa throughout the year so far…
Spencer,
Is it true your high school coach sat you out a game this year. Why was that?
No No No, Broncofan. This kid doesn’t have to explain himself to anyone. Let him be.
Spencer- IF I were you I would stop replying – you not doing yourself any good.
If you are as good as it sounds- shouldn’t be an issue. If you left the other schools in good order -some will talk again to you. Just stop posting here – you are making it worse.
Chris did you no favors here – not on purpose- just didn’t think through – everyone needs to stop before this poor kid can’t get into a school anywhere.
You nailed it Keith. There isn’t a school around that’s going to care what Chri Berg says. If a school looks at Holloway they’ll want to see all of his senior tape. They’ll want to know why his coach sat him out, and they’ll want to know if distance is a factor for him and his family.
When you have one offer you don’t question the spoon that is about to feed you a $100,000 in free education. Western is no different than any other school. They have dozens of recruits who desperately want to be there, they don’t need to baby sit a recruit who every other day is on the fence.
nothing against spencer but his junior year he started a couple games and was benched. also the big ten school you are talking about was purdue and his family has made huge donations there. he was moved to d-line his senior year from linebacker because he is not aggressive enough. purdue never offered and never will. good luck
where did you get this information c norris and who are you