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Tommy Tuberville is considering withholding COA money for rule violations
A day after Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster raised some eyebrows for saying the Hokies were considering taking money from a player’s cost of attendance stipend as a form of discipline, Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville told ESPN that the Bearcats are considering the same.
Tuberville said the idea is to hold players “accountable” if they break team rules or do not meet academic requirements.
From ESPN:
Cincinnati said that the plan, which Tuberville has considered long before Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster made similar comments Wednesday, would be subject to an appeal.
Tuberville said "effort" -- in addressing off-the-field shortcomings, not athletic performance -- would be a factor in determining any withholdings.
Bearcats athletic director Mike Bohn said it would be a “tool” to help student-athletes.
“It’s not a fine. It’s not a threat. It’s a tool,” Bohn told ESPN. “We want to help our student-athletes and are committed to helping them. Our expectations are high. Coach told them, ‘We love you but don’t think that if you continue to do the wrong things that we are required to provide every piece of that support package.’ It’s an accountability measure.”
That sounds a whole lot like a threat to me.
The cost of attendance stipend (Bohn says Cincinnati’s is more than $5,200 per student-athlete) is a part of a player’s scholarship; it’s not money a program should be able to give and take at its own discretion.
Bohn told ESPN that violations that would warrant a stipend reduction include academic fraud or drinking and driving. Additionally, Cincinnati senior associate director of athletics Maggie McKinley said that there is language in a student-athlete’s scholarship that gives the school the ability to “reduce or terminate” it if an athlete violates the student code conduct policy or the athletic department policy.
But does that open up the possibility of withholding money for far less egregious offenses? Or is it just for student and athletic department conduct policies?
Violating school policies is one thing, but if Tuberville thinks it’s a good idea to withhold money for a player having bad grades, that’s heading down a completely different avenue.
For what it’s worth, McKinley said student-athletes would be informed of any rules surrounding the issue.
From ESPN:
McKinley noted that coaches will have clear and consistent policies that must be clearly communicated to their teams and that financial reduction decisions will be reviewed by an oversight committee.
When Foster, Virginia Tech’s longtime defensive coordinator, brought up the possibility on Wednesday, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock quickly put a stop to it. He told The Roanoke Times that taking money “out of cost of attendance would not be permissible.”
Cincinnati should probably follow Virginia Tech’s lead on this one.
For more Cincinnati news, visit BearcatReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
