The Casper Journal :: Casper's Community Newspaper

The subject of college athletic scholarships is getting a lot of attention these days, what with the end of the high school year and the announcement of Wyoming athletes receiving scholarships from various schools across the country.

The questions surrounding athletic scholarships came into focus with the news a while back that Eric Platt would be leaving the University of Wyoming basketball team after it was learned that he would not be a big part of the Cowboys’ future plans.

Some folks were under the impression that a college athletic scholarship was good for at least four years at a school regardless. But that isn’t exactly what an athletic scholarship includes. Athletic scholarships are up for renewal every year, although in most cases it is pretty much routine for the scholarship to be extended -- but not always.

It has become more common for college athletes to give up their scholarship in order to transfer to a different school, most often because there may be a better situation there, primarily because of the coaches involved.

When a new coach takes over a program, he naturally wants to work with the athletes he has recruited. Eric Platt was recruited and signed by former Cowboy basketball coach Steve McClain, and when McClain was fired from UW, new coach Heath Schroyer brought in a new agenda.

Platt had played quite a lot in his first season in Laramie, but his playing time was reduced under Schroyer, and the Casper native was not encouraged by the prospect of limited future playing time. He has elected to give up his UW scholarship to move on to a program that will provide him greater opportunity to play.

The scholarship question has been a big topic at Iowa, where Chicago native Tony Freeman has elected to leave the Hawkeye program to go to a team that will give him more opportunities to play a major role. Interestingly, Freeman was Iowa’s leading scorer last season, but a coaching change has changed his outlook.

The new coach, Todd Licklier, took over from Steve Alford, who is now the New Mexico head coach. Freeman isn’t part of the new coach’s future plans.

A Chicago Tribune story by Barry Temkin focused on the Freeman situation. The 6-l high scoring guard was never really told that he was not wanted at Iowa, but the new coach had hinted that Freeman would be getting less playing time in the future.

Freeman took the hint and decided to leave Iowa, even though he will be a senior.

That scenario isn’t common, but does happen in major college athletics. There is a real lack of consistency in the NCAA rules on the subject. An athlete now is allowed to transfer without sitting out a year at the new school, while a new coach can make it difficult for the athlete to remain at the school that recruited him or her.

It seems there should be a higher degree of loyalty on both ends. After all, this is college sports and should be more than just wins and losses and revenue created by athletic attendance.

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