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Friday, December 09, 2005
(Originally posted 8:49 a.m., additional commentary added at 11:04 a.m., after clearing the driveway of 8 inches of reminder of why I don't like to go to Hamilton)
Corky Blake :
Blake also answers the nagging question: Why was Knight, who is from Tennessee, taking classes at a Texas community college after leaving High Point? Blake says Knight's parents live there.
For the first time in this saga, Lehigh has posted a on the situation on its Web site.
Lehigh's position on the whole thing seems to be that they are the victims in the entire fiasco. Look at some of the language in the statement: "Lehigh was quite surprised . . ." ". . . the cumbersome and time-consuming process . . . "
Hey, sure, the NCAA can come off as a big bully on a lot of issues. But this one seems pretty straight forward. Matter of fact, it seems so obvious to us, we are surprised supposedly smart people at a supposedly top academic institution would really be dumb enough to believe their own interpretation of the situation.
The NCAA bylaw that applies here reads:
It seems to be pretty clear. For a credit to count as "progress towards an actual degree", it needs to be a "degree credit."
Lehigh tries to remove the context from the clause. In the release, they write:
Lehigh wants to separate "earned" from "for degree credit." but OR is not capitalized in the bylaw. And it seems pretty clear, in the context of the bylaw, it means the credits can be earned or they can be accepted (transfer credits), but the ones that count must be "for degree credit." You cannot just take courses, you need to be progressing towards a degree.
Of course by Lehigh's accounting, Knight already has earned 128 credits. Most schools that is enough to give you a degree. Lehigh claims Knight will have earned his degree by June 2006, after the completion of one class in the first summer session. They also say at that time Knight will have 57 credits more than what was needed to graduate. Which certainly raises the question: What classes did Knight take that don't count towards his degree, yet were considered applicable towards meeting Lehigh's own stringent transfer admissions requirements?
Lehigh also mentions that they sought a review because Knight's total number of credits towards his Lehigh degree was "less than the number that would normally be expected for a fifth year student." Knight is a sociology major. When did that become a five-year program? What would normally be expected of a sociology major after four years would be grad school or a low-paying job.
At some point, Colgate's Chones brothers should be added to the discussion for a look at how the league treats community college years in the midst of a student-athlete's pursuit of a degree at a member school. Does that violate the "no redshirts other than medical" rule? If a kid struggles academically and takes a semester, or even a season, off from hoops to concentrate on their grades, they lose that season of eligibility. If they leave school, attend a community college, then return, the league seems to allow the fifth year eligibility.
For now, we will stick to the question of how Lehigh's handling of Knight's transfer fits the league's framework of student-athletes being academically representative of the student body.
Still unanswered is the question that really is the key to this whole situation as far as we are concerned: Why did Knight leave High Point and what were his grades when he left?
In other words, did Knight fit Lehigh's profile when he was admitted? Or did he get special admissions treatment because he was a talented point guard?
Seems to us the only way to ever really resolve this who question is to quit releasing statements and start releasing Knight's transcripts.
* Actual Lehigh course offerings
Corky Blake :
Lehigh University senior guard Joe Knight will not return to the Mountain Hawks' lineup until Jan. 11 against Navy, the NCAA has ruled.Corky has some details about the NCAA's reasoning. Apparently Lehigh was counting all Knight's credits, rather than just the ones that count towards the degree he is pursuing. It all comes under the NCAA's requirements for making progress towards a degree.
Blake also answers the nagging question: Why was Knight, who is from Tennessee, taking classes at a Texas community college after leaving High Point? Blake says Knight's parents live there.
For the first time in this saga, Lehigh has posted a on the situation on its Web site.
Lehigh's position on the whole thing seems to be that they are the victims in the entire fiasco. Look at some of the language in the statement:
Hey, sure, the NCAA can come off as a big bully on a lot of issues. But this one seems pretty straight forward. Matter of fact, it seems so obvious to us, we are surprised supposedly smart people at a supposedly top academic institution would really be dumb enough to believe their own interpretation of the situation.
The NCAA bylaw that applies here reads:
The calculation of credit hours to meet this requirement [the cumulative credits required under the progress toward degree bylaw] shall be based upon hours earned or accepted for degree credit.Now remember, we are talking about progress towards an actual degree. The whole idea of this rule is to prevent someone from spending four or five years at a school, maintaining an eligible GPA by taking nothing but classes like The Politics of Women* , Introduction to Canada*, or Raw Vision: Creativity and Ecstasy in the Work of Shamans, Mystics, and Artist Outsiders* while never actually coming close to graduating.
It seems to be pretty clear. For a credit to count as "progress towards an actual degree", it needs to be a "degree credit."
Lehigh tries to remove the context from the clause. In the release, they write:
Prior to his arrival at Lehigh as a transfer student, Joe Knight had completed 93 hours (credits). He has completed an additional 35 in his first year at Lehigh. Lehigh interpreted the bylaw such that Knight had met the provisions of the progress toward degree requirements because these were all credit hours that were “earned” even though some of those completed hours do not apply to the Lehigh degree program Knight is pursuing.Lehigh might be "quite surprised" by the NCAA's interpretation of the rule, but we sure are not.
Lehigh felt comfortable that Knight’s overall college progress met the NCAA provisions defined by the bylaw, but submitted an official request for interpretation because Knight’s total number of credits toward his Lehigh degree was less than the number that would normally be expected for a fifth year student. Lehigh was quite surprised to learn of the differing interpretation and appealed the interpretation through the standard NCAA process. Throughout the cumbersome and time-consuming process, Lehigh chose to keep Knight out of competition. The decision to withhold his participation ultimately helped avoid further game penalties.
The NCAA has interpreted the language in the bylaw such that only the credits earned that are applicable to his Lehigh degree program can be used to fulfill his progress toward degree requirements, even though the specific language as written seems to indicate that credits “earned OR accepted for degree credit” would be applicable.
Lehigh wants to separate "earned" from "for degree credit." but OR is not capitalized in the bylaw. And it seems pretty clear, in the context of the bylaw, it means the credits can be earned or they can be accepted (transfer credits), but the ones that count must be "for degree credit." You cannot just take courses, you need to be progressing towards a degree.
Of course by Lehigh's accounting, Knight already has earned 128 credits. Most schools that is enough to give you a degree. Lehigh claims Knight will have earned his degree by June 2006, after the completion of one class in the first summer session. They also say at that time Knight will have 57 credits more than what was needed to graduate. Which certainly raises the question: What classes did Knight take that don't count towards his degree, yet were considered applicable towards meeting Lehigh's own stringent transfer admissions requirements?
Lehigh also mentions that they sought a review because Knight's total number of credits towards his Lehigh degree was "less than the number that would normally be expected for a fifth year student." Knight is a sociology major. When did that become a five-year program? What would normally be expected of a sociology major after four years would be grad school or a low-paying job.
At some point, Colgate's Chones brothers should be added to the discussion for a look at how the league treats community college years in the midst of a student-athlete's pursuit of a degree at a member school. Does that violate the "no redshirts other than medical" rule? If a kid struggles academically and takes a semester, or even a season, off from hoops to concentrate on their grades, they lose that season of eligibility. If they leave school, attend a community college, then return, the league seems to allow the fifth year eligibility.
For now, we will stick to the question of how Lehigh's handling of Knight's transfer fits the league's framework of student-athletes being academically representative of the student body.
Still unanswered is the question that really is the key to this whole situation as far as we are concerned: Why did Knight leave High Point and what were his grades when he left?
In other words, did Knight fit Lehigh's profile when he was admitted? Or did he get special admissions treatment because he was a talented point guard?
Seems to us the only way to ever really resolve this who question is to quit releasing statements and start releasing Knight's transcripts.
* Actual Lehigh course offerings
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