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NCAA eligibility recommendation spawns more questions

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The rapid cancelations of spring athletics put student athletes in a tragic spot. NCAA eligibility waivers could be an answer, but how would they work?

The continuously churning sports news cycle got more complicated on Friday when Jeff Goodman tweeted this regarding potential changes to NCAA eligibility processes:

Goodman was working off a communication that would be published later in the day. His report caught the spirit of what the NCAA would release later that day, but wasn’t completely accurate. The NCAA announced later Friday afternoon that they had “agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate” for athletes competing in spring sports. This would include sports like baseball, softball, track and field, swimming, tennis and others.

Agreeing that something should be done is not the same as a mandate. If the 2021 spring sports calendar were to happen tomorrow, there would be no new eligibility rules in place. Before any of this promise can be enacted, several more questions need to be answered:

1. How are scholarships counted?

Different levels and different sports have different scholarship limitations. In many sports, only a portion of the team can be on full academic scholarships for a given semester. Will scholarship limits be expanded? Who pays for the additional scholarships?

2. Will rosters be expanded?

Beyond scholarship situations, college rosters have limitations on the numbers of players they can have at any one time. If all seniors are granted an additional season, how does a school reconcile the unexpected returning players with a new signee class already committed to enroll in the fall? Do rosters expand? If so, to how many spots and for how long?

3. Who gets the extra eligibility?

Restoring an additional year of eligibility to all parties is going to be a challenging puzzle to solve. Would restoring the year to only seniors be a possibility? What about the MLB Draft? If a player is selected this year and opts not to return to school, does that extra year of eligibility disappear? Could the school allocate it to another player?

4. What about the winter sports?

The spring sports are in their initial weeks, but most school’s basketball seasons were in their final days, some down to a final game. Is it “fair” to restore eligibility to those players who were denied NCAA Tournament berths? I’m sure there would be seniors that would much rather get another shot at March Madness than start working a nine-to-five.

5. What about school?

And that brings us to school. These are student athletes we’re talking about and several players in this sample were graduates already. Would they have to enroll in a master’s program to maintain their additional season of eligibility and if they’ve finished a degree would they have to start another?

We have more questions than answers right now, by a wide margin. The NCAA is routinely dragged through the mud for making comical decisions, but this cause is much more commendable. Executing this recommendation is going to be the hard part. Just like the concerns over the pandemic that forced these questions, things might get more complicated before any answers emerge.

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Coronavirus: A timeline of the past 72 hours in sports

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Coronavirus concerns brought US sports to a screeching halt over the span of 72 hours. From the Ivies to the NCAA Tournament, here’s a timeline of events.

Things began to get rolling at the tail end of last week. South by Southwest music festival was canceled on Friday, March 6. Indian Wells tennis tournament followed suit on Sunday, March. 8. That prequel set up an exhausting three days in sports, and it’s not done yet.

Tuesday, March 10.

10:19 a.m. – The Ivy League cancels its conference tournament.

1:37 p.m. – Ohio Governer Mike Dewine recommends indoor sporting events have no spectators

4:08 p.m. – The SEC, ACC and others announce limited media access to locker rooms for conference tournaments

5:40 p.m. – The MAC bans all fans from attending their conference tournament

6:40 p.m. – College sports writer Dan Wolken urges the cancelation of the NCAA Tournament

9:49 p.m. – Washington Governor Jay Inslee restricts gatherings of more than 250 people, including sporting events

11:50 p.m. – The Seattle Mariners reportedly begin seeking out possibilities to open their season on the road

Wednesday, March 11

11:42 a.m. – The CBI Tournament is canceled

1:10 p.m. – The Golden State Warriors close games to fans, to go into effect on Thursday night against the Brooklyn Nets

1:44 p.m. – Fans officially barred from attending First Four games of NCAA Tournament in Ohio

2:00 p.m. – The Ivy League cancels all spring athletic seasons

3:31 p.m. – The NCAA announces it will limit attendance at the NCAA Tournament

4:24 p.m. – The Michigan Wolverines cancel their spring football game

5:00 p.m. – Juventus defender Daniele Rugani tests positive for coronavirus

5:35 p.m. – Big Ten announces it will not allow fans at their conference tournament, beginning on Thursday

6:58 p.m. – ACC announces it will limit fans from Thursday games

7:14 p.m. – The Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder leave the court minutes before tip-off. The game is delayed.

7:40 p.m. – The Jazz vs Thunder game is postponed. No reason was given.

8:27 p.m. – Jazz player Rudy Gobert tests positive for coronavirus

8:31 p.m. – The NBA suspends their season indefinitely

9:13 p.m. – Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg, who was coaching the game while fighting an illness, leaves the court before it finishes.

9:31 p.m. – Hoiberg is taken from the arena to the hosptial. Nebraska grants no interviews or media availability.

11:45 p.m. – Hoiberg is released from the hospital after being diagnosed with the flu.

Thursday, March 12

8:28 a.m. – ACC commissioner John Swofford says the ACC Tournament will be played as scheduled

9:32 a.m. – ATP suspends tour for six weeks

9:49 a.m. – Jazz star Donovan Mitchell tests positive for coronavirus

9:58 a.m. – The MLS suspends it season

10:25 a.m. –  The Washington Redskins become first NFL team to suspend all travel

10:30 p.m. – The National Lacross League suspends play

10:42 a.m. – The AAC Tournament is canceled

10:43 a.m. – The Big Ten Tournament is canceled

10:47 a.m. – The SEC Tournament is canceled

10:59 a.m. – The Big 12 Tournament is canceled

11:00 a.m. – The Conference USA Tournament is canceled

11:03 a.m. – Notre Dame announces the halt of all recruiting activities and spring football practice

11:17 a.m. – The Pac-12 Tournament is canceled and the conference’s athletic competitions are suspended

11:57 a.m. – The Big East cancels its tournament at halftime. It is the last major conference tournament to be canceled.

12:01 p.m. – Conference USA suspends all spring sports

12:15 p.m. – Jeff Passan reports the MLB will suspend operations

12:35 p.m. – The NHL suspends its season

12:37 p.m. – La Liga season suspended two weeks as Real Madrid players are quarantined

12:41 p.m. – USC postpones spring football practices

12:49 p.m. – Duke suspends all athletic activities

12:54 p.m. – Kansas suspends all athletic activities and travel

12:59 p.m. – Arizona suspends all athletic activities

1:29 p.m. – WVU suspends all athletic activities

2:00 p.m. – The ACC suspends all athletic activities

2:09 p.m. – MLB opening day delayed two weeks.

2:31 p.m. – WTA cancels Miami Open and Volvo Car Open

3:16 p.m. – NCAA Tournament canceled

5:28 p.m. – Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta tests positive for coronavirus

6:08 p.m. – Formula 1 cancels Australian Grand Prix

6:16 p.m. – XFL suspends season, announces players will be paid.

9:03 p.m. – PGA Tour suspends THE PLAYERS Championship, including the Valero Texas Open.

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The Day coronavirus stopped college sports in America

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The 2020 college sports calendar was abruptly halted to protect against the coronavirus. Fans across the nation are still processing the sudden shock.

On Tuesday evening USA Today columnist Dan Wolken penned what was, at the time, an incomprehensible edict: cancel the NCAA Tournament. The reaction on social media was far-ranging. Some called him a fearmonger. Others praised his advocacy. But at some level all of us wondered… could he be right?

Less than 48 hours later, Wolken was right. There will be no NCAA Tournament. There won’t even be a Conference USA Basketball Tournament — not a complete one. Players and fans were sent home from Frisco after one day of the scheduled four-day tournament had been completed.

Rice women’s basketball had dressed for the game. They were ready to play through the maelstrom of uncertainty. Then they were sent back to the locker room. The game was over. The season was over. For some, like senior guard and two-time Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike, their careers were over.

All within 48 hours.

And it didn’t stop there. Conferences began to indefinitely postpone all spring athletics. Conference USA followed suit, halting the Rice baseball season in its tracks. The remainder of the spring sports were put on hiatus and soon after classes were moved online for the remainder of the semester. The NBA, NHL and MLB all delayed their seasons, too.

Then the NCAA announced that all spring championships were canceled. From March Madness — which was purportedly to be played without fans as a last-ditch, stopgap measure — to the College World Series in the summer. All of it. Gone. Done. Poof.

It should go without saying that the health and safety of student athletes, their families, coaches and all athletic staff personnel, is of the utmost importance. The “why” behind these cancelations is far from unconscionable. But the anguish, the disappointment, is going to last for a long time.

This fallout from these nation-shaking decisions is far from over. Eligibility questions will linger as the country readies itself for a global pandemic with no tournaments to distract them, to salve the harder days. What happens to seniors, some of which had just begun their spring seasons? Will there be waivers and how does that impact rosters for next year? Will the NCAA reach an equitable middle ground?

We don’t know.

Frankly, those three words sum up the last three days more succinctly than anything else. But the sun will rise tomorrow. Life will continue, with or without sports. It will undoubtedly take weeks to wrap our minds around what is happening in our world right now.

Rice Athletics will move forward and so will The Roost. We’re working through some contingency plans when it comes to content. We have some ideas and we’d love to get your input on what sort of things you’d be interested in reading in the coming weeks. Please leave us a comment on the forum or message us on social media and let us know. Today is a hard day, but we’ll make it through.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 LB Aidan Siano commits to Owls

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Linebacker Aidan Siano from Prosper, Texas has committed to the Owls. He’s the fourth member of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

It’s been an eventful spring around the world. And while some things matter much more than football, the Owls have done their due diligence on the recruiting front. Rice has done all they can to ensure the future remains bright at South Main. Those efforts have focused on the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, which is now adding a new member.

Aidan Siano, a linebacker from Prosper, Texas, has committed to the Owls. That’s the fourth commitment of this recruiting cycle following the earlier additions of offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe from Orange, CA, defensive lineman Blake Boenisch from Needville, TX and fellow linebacker Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall in Houston.

Siano follows Seymour as the second linebacker in the class. Both were early offers in January who have stayed in close contact with the Rice coaching staff throughout the process. Siano was back for spring practice and has been trending in the Owls’ direction for a while. Now he’s taken the step and gone all in.

After positive initial first impressions, everything else he saw at South Main continued to reinforce that this was the place for him.”Playing the best football and getting the best education was a no brainer,” Siano said of his decision, adding that he was happy to commit early in the cycle so that he can “focus on improving for this coming season and helping bring other players to the best college in the country.”

Before he takes the field, Siano is prepared. He’s a film junkie. “Being able to identify a formation and anticipate what play is coming is a huge way I set myself up [for success],” he said.

On the field, Siano is relentless. He’s aggressive at the point of attack, but nimble enough to shed blockers at the line of scrimmage and find the football. His “Football IQ” sets him apart from many of his peers. He’s the kind of player you trust to diagnose and react to plays as they develop. Then he goes and makes the tackle, from sideline to sideline.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 LB Kenny Seymour commits to Owls

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Linebacker Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall has committed to the Owls. He’s the third member of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

The commitment train has not slowed down for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. Rice had no commitments in the class entering March. Over the course of a week, they’ve picked up three. Offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe from Orange, CA was first. Defensive lineman Blake Boenisch from Needville, TX was next. The Owls’ third pledge in four days on Wednesday came with the commitment of Houston’s own Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall.

Seymour is the first linebacker in the class and one of the Owls’ most sought-after candidates at the position. Like the prior two commitments, Rice was the first FBS program to offer Seymour, extending him an invitation to come play at South Main in mid-January. He later received offers from Dartmouth, Penn and Air Force.

The effectiveness with which Rice football recruiting is able to land their targets is second to none. Seymour marks the third of the Owls’ first two dozen offers to commit to Rice. The bulk of those offers (and commitments) came in the last eight weeks.

Seymour’s draw to the program was strong from the start. He cited the trajectory of the program as one of the reasons he knew Rice was the place for him. “The mindset of the players [is] cohesive with the coaching staff,” he said. “The trajectory is going up… and fast.”

On the field, there’s a lot to like about Seymour’s game. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker moves like he was fired out of a canon. He’s a tremendous tackler in the open field and an aggressive pursuer. He has a knack for finding the ball carrier, and he has the size and strength to take him down. He’ll slide into one of the insider linebacker spots when he arrives on campus.

The Rice linebacker room is one of the deepest on the team. Adding the right pieces at the position, like Seymour, will make them a mainstay on the defense for years to come. Seymour welcomes the opportunity and the competition. “I have every bit of faith that the [coaching staff] will set me up for success,” he said. His knowledge of the game and ability to process plays quickly and confidently will both serve him well at the next level.

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