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Thursday, July 24, 2008

News GO VIKINGS! No, literally...GO...players lose scholarships without warning...

Posted by Matt Davis on Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 5:20 PM

I met this afternoon with three of the 13 PSU football players alleging controversial coach Jerry Glanville has kicked them off the team by terminating their scholarships, and giving conflicting reasons for doing so.

jerry_glanville.jpg
GLANVILLE: Looks a bit gay in that hat...

Before we go any further: I am not a football fan. I have no interest in a sport that's designed for pussies—all that padding makes you look scared, boys. However, I do know injustice when I see it. And I think I see it, here.

All three players were huge, one of them practically destroyed my hand when he shook it. And yet, they were terrified of speaking out against Glanville, for the sake of their future careers. Why?

"I think he bought his NFL standpoint over to a college, and that's how he's treating us. But it's education that he's dealing with, not the NFL," said one player—who had planned to graduate in November, but can't now afford to do so.

Some players allege they were told they were losing their scholarships because they had missed weight training sessions when they had attended religiously. Others say they were told they were in bad academic standing when they were doing fine.

"I was told it was because I didn't come to weights by one coach, and then another told me I didn't fit the scheme. Then another coach told me that my grades weren't eligible. It was just conflicting stories all around," said one of the players. "When I finally met with Glanville, he said it was because I got hurt."

While all the players are on yearly scholarships, and Glanville has the legal right to kick them off the team, the players I spoke to were struck by the ruthlessness of the decision. Seven of the former players are appealing the decision and are hoping Glanville has a change of heart. Others have begun applying to other schools.

Some of the players joined the Vikings under former coach, Tim Walsh. They feel he made them promises he couldn't live up to.

"He ate my parents' hors d'oeuvres and told them, we'll take care of your child," said one of the players. "He gave me assurances, saying he'd take care of me, telling me I'd be able to finish my education."

It turns out, such promises mean nothing when the coach gets replaced. It must be a tough lesson for these players to learn. And I hope coach Brokeback feels guilty about it.

 

Commenting was not available when this article was originally published.

Comments (8) RSS

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1
I understand that kids not being able to finish school sucks, but how does an incoming college coach change schemes if he's forced to grandfather the entire roster?

Is it standard school or NCAA policy to cut athletic scholarships in this manner? Maybe if you would have asked them about it you could have found out? Sounds like a great story, too bad you missed it.
Posted by newsInQuotes on July 24, 2008 at 10:31 PM · Report
2
Seriously...get into it. If Glanville sucks then he's an ass. He was told to make that a winning program and athletic scholarships are his choice. If these guys don't fit his style then they have to go somewhere else.

I realize college is expensive. If he cut an academic scholarship then I'd have a problem but they're athletic. I know this isn't any different than when any other coach takes over a program. He has to get guys that fit his system. These guys didn't. Tough luck.

I'm sure all will find a home at another not division 1 athletic program. Lewis and Clark could probably use some help and last I checked they were an incredible college to have a degree from.
Posted by BlackedOut on July 24, 2008 at 11:55 PM · Report
3
So this is a Mercury blog post linking to a Oregonian blog post that is itself taking its cue from a Willamette Week blog post? Surreal.
Posted by Jason on July 25, 2008 at 1:02 AM · Report
4
I imagine that most students at PSU aren't on athletic scholarships. It's an unfair burden to have to pay the current prices for a public education, but the great majority of PSU students do so, and they do it for four years. It's not as if these players had their admittance revoked. But also: Jerry Glanville can stick a pipe up his butt. PSU might have hired the corpse of Kurt Cobain for all the good hiring Glanville did them last year.
Posted by couisinluver69 on July 25, 2008 at 2:20 AM · Report
5
PSU athletics is a joke and none of them should have the scholarships that they do. They're school career isn't over. They just get to get jobs and loans like every other PSU student. Seriously, they all really need to get over themselves.
Posted by littlej on July 25, 2008 at 10:48 AM · Report
6
Great caption: 1 point.

Not funny. Sad actually.

Next!
Posted by Int'l. Assoc. of Satirists on July 25, 2008 at 11:57 AM · Report
7
uh HORSE SHIT! Being someone from that failed empire across the pond, you should never ever write about AMERICAN football in any capacity. It just comes off like you are full of Horse Shit.

I say can these slackers if Jerry has some talent on the line.
Posted by Absolute Horse Shit Guy on July 25, 2008 at 3:35 PM · Report
8
Glanville needs to get run.....the team has not gotten better under his watch. If Portland State ever wants to win the Big Sky, earn a berth in the Playoffs and compete with the likes of Montana, Eastern Washington, etc. they need to hire a coach who cares more about winning than his public image and persona. FIRE GLANVILLE!
Posted by FIRE GLANVILLE on October 26, 2009 at 12:59 PM · Report

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