WATCH: Scott Van Pelt lambasts cold-hearted NCAA over inconsistent waiver policies
By Keith Farner
Published:
The NCAA has received plenty of questions and criticism over its uneven and inconsistent policies around player transfers related to waivers to play immediately.
The issue has become one of the most talked about over the offseason as a host of high-profile players have transferred, or tried to transfer, among schools. In the SEC, for example, Luke Ford had hiccups going from Georgia to Illinois, while Aubrey Solomon was also delayed in getting the green light from Michigan to Tennessee. Attorney Tom Mars has even made the legal issues around the transfer issue a sort of cottage industry.
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt picked up the issue when he addressed the transfer attempt of Brock Hoffman from Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech, to be closer to his mother, who is recovering from health issues related to brain surgery in 2017.
Van Pelt opened the segment by outlining Justin Fields relative easy transfer and waiver from Georgia to Ohio State, and the trickle down effect of Tate Martell then transferring from Ohio State to Miami, as both players were immediately eligible. As a basis of comparison, Van Pelt noted that Hoffman’s appeal for immediately eligibility on Tuesday was denied.
In Hoffman’s case, the transfer would cut his commute to the family home in North Carolina in half. Van Pelt cited a Roanoke Times report that said Hoffman’s mother was getting better.
“The nerve of that woman, right,” Van Pelt said. “‘Sorry Brock, as your mom continues to deal with hearing loss, facial paralysis and impaired eye sight, she’s just not sick enough for us to grant you that waiver.'”
Another issue that the NCAA cited in the spring was that the family lived outside of the 100-mile radius for medical hardship waivers, Van Pelt noted. By five miles.
Then came the issue raised by the NCAA. Why didn’t she retire from her job as a teacher? Well, the family has nearly $1 million in medical bills and she doesn’t yet have the years to qualify for a full pension.
Because of a coaching change, Hoffman could have applied for a different type of transfer waiver, but the brain tumor recovery caused them to go the medical hardship route.
“Because isn’t what this is,” Van Pelt asked rhetorically. “Nope, sorry.”
.@notthefakeSVP lays out why he believes the NCAA’s decision on Brock Hoffman is wrong.
Hoffman, who transferred to Virginia Tech to help care for his mother, was denied his appeal for an immediate-eligibility waiver and will sit out this season. pic.twitter.com/jgbgA1nsGa
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 29, 2019
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
