Just asking the question but should a team lose scholarships because of what a former coach did or did not do. I think it's terrible that Schools like Hampton are suffering because a coach let things get terrible during his tenure. that being said I think it's awful that a student athelete who transfers or leaves a school and doesn't graduate still affects the school that he initially attended. It just doesn't seem right.


dailypress.com
HU again loses scholarships
NCAA academic progress reports tell a good-news, bad-news story for Hampton University.
By MARTY O'BRIEN

247-4963

May 7, 2008

Hampton University will lose athletic scholarships for the third consecutive year for failing to meet NCAA academic progress requirements. Hampton's men's basketball and men's indoor track teams lose one scholarship each, according to Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released Tuesday.

But Hampton's APR performance was better than the previous two years, and the news also is good for most other area and state programs. Old Dominion's wrestling team loses a fraction of a scholarship, but no other area program received scholarship penalties.

William and Mary fared best among state schools, with four men's and four women's programs receiving Public Recognition Awards for academic excellence. Four W&M sports programs posted perfect APR scores: men's golf and gymnastics and women's gymnastics and volleyball.

Hampton loses one of its 13 men's basketball scholarships because its four-year APR average is well below the benchmark of 925. An APR of 925 projects to about a 60-percent graduation success rate, a number the NCAA requires to avoid penalties.

HU's basketball team averaged 870 for the 2003-04 to 2006-07 school years. HU athletic director Lonza Hardy said the men's team scored 977 in 2006-07, the first for coach Kevin Nickleberry, but scored 797, 860 and 865 under previous coach Bobby Collins.

"Coach Nickelberry is not responsible for the poor (academic) history of the men's basketball program, but he's suffering the consequences," Hardy said. "Fortunately, Coach Nickelberry has made an effort to recruit students better qualified to meet the high academic standards of this university while representing the university as athletes.

"The previous staff put too much effort to winning on the court and not enough to winning in the classroom."

The scholarship loss is the third since Nickelberry became head coach in March 2006, although the academic problems predate his tenure. He expressed frustration at the news, but said he is optimistic about the future.

"We've replaced almost the entire roster in two years and now we have student-athletes who, for the most part, want to do things the right way," he said. "It's a shame that the program dropped to such a low state academically, and that we have to pay for the major academic shortcomings of the six years before we got here.

HU's men's indoor track and field team loses a scholarship, because an athlete who would not have been academically eligible left school. Otherwise, APR news was good for the school.

The football team did not lose any scholarships, after losing three in 2006 and two a year ago. The football team's multi-year average has improved from 893 in 2006 to 918 this year. The NCAA often will not assess penalties to a program that is demonstrating marked academic improvement.

"The football team took care of business," Hardy said. "Their guys are eligible and they are retaining them because they've done a better job of recruiting and providing academic support.

"These are the kinds of things now in place with men's basketball and indoor track."

Among other state teams, neither Virginia nor Virginia Tech lost any scholarships. Liberty University loses two men's basketball scholarships, while VMI loses almost a full wrestling scholarship and Virginia Commonwealth University loses a fraction of a men's indoor track scholarship.

The NCAA reported that fewer teams than anticipated received penalties. However, several Division I-A football programs were hammered for poor academic performance: Alabama-Birmingham lost nine football scholarships, while Idaho and Washington State were docked eight apiece.

This is unfair to Hampton U and Coach Nick. The coaches that did the recruiting should be held accountable in some form rather their still employed by the university or not.

I agree. why is it that a coach can leave a school in ruins and start fresh at another program. it's just wrong.