Comments on: Can schools pull verbal scholarship offers?

By: Holloway

Holloway — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:18:46 +0000

where did you get this information c norris and who are you

By: c norris

c norris — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:02:49 +0000

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

By: Broncofan

Broncofan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:05:57 +0000

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.

By: keith

keith — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:10:05 +0000

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.

By: Scot

Scot — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:14:48 +0000

No No No, Broncofan. This kid doesn’t have to explain himself to anyone. Let him be.

By: Broncofan

Broncofan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:26:17 +0000

Spencer,

Is it true your high school coach sat you out a game this year. Why was that?

By: Spencer Holloway

Spencer Holloway — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:46:44 +0000

I have a 3.6 gpa throughout the year so far…

By: Tommyboy

Tommyboy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:03:06 +0000

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).

By: Georgewins

Georgewins — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:19:07 +0000

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.

By: Georgewins

Georgewins — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:17:54 +0000

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

By: Scot

Scot — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:05:59 +0000

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.

By: Spencer Holloway

Spencer Holloway — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:21 +0000

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.

By: Philly

Philly — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:23:55 +0000

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’.

By: Chris Berg

Chris Berg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:53:26 +0000

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.

By: Scot

Scot — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:35:55 +0000

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.

By: Spencer Holloway

Spencer Holloway — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:51:00 +0000

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.

By: Chris Berg

Chris Berg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:39:17 +0000

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.

By: Chris Berg

Chris Berg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:36:31 +0000

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.

By: Chris Berg

Chris Berg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:33:33 +0000

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.

By: Chris Berg

Chris Berg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:30:15 +0000

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.