Virginia Tech may face precedent-setting legal battle over rev-share cuts to redshirting players
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When Virginia Tech fired coach Brent Pry earlier this month, it created a difficult dilemma for every player on its roster.
Per NCAA rules, all players on Virginia Tech’s roster have a 30-day window to enter the transfer portal following Pry’s dismissal. Some players have chosen to do so and are seeking a redshirt to preserve their year of eligibility. The NCAA allows players to redshirt as long as they have played in 4 or fewer games.
However, the process may not be so simple. Noted sports attorney Darren Heitner said on social media on Friday that he’s been retained by a Virginia Tech player who says the Hokies are threatening to terminate rev-share payments and scholarship benefits for players who are opting to redshirt following Pry’s dismissal.
Heitner points out programs can not void payments or scholarships on “pay-for-play grounds.”
Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger is reporting that Virginia Tech will honor scholarship benefits to players who are seeking a redshirt. However, Dellenger also notes that the program is seeking to void rev-share payments for those players, setting up a potential legal battle that could set precedent for other programs across the country:
UCLA and Oklahoma State have also already fired their head coaches before their teams have played a fifth game. It’s unclear if those programs are also planning to take similar measures with regards to players who are seeking to redshirt and preserve eligibility.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
