MUTS Football Loses 8 Scholarships

[MeanGreen61]

MTSU football loses eight scholarships

By ADAM SPARKS

sparks@dnj.com

New MTSU football coach Rick Stockstill will have eight fewer scholarships to use in his upcoming signing class.

Due to failing APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores, the Blue Raiders have been penalized the maximum of eight scholarships, which will be temporarily lost over the next year-and-a-half.

However, eight scholarships will not be available in the upcoming class alone because of three factors — including three for APR penalties, four for so-called "grayshirt athletes" and one for a previous NCAA violation.

Grayshirt athletes pay their own tuition for their first semester with the promise of being put on scholarship in the second semester. Stockstill will honor pledges of former coach Andy McCollum to all four grayshirt athletes on the MTSU roster.

So with the loss of eight scholarships, MTSU can only sign 17 players in its upcoming signing class rather than the maximum of 25.

Of the eight scholarships cut solely by a failed APR score, five must still be cut beyond the upcoming signing class.

"Looking at it right now, I think we can wipe the slate clean after next season so that coach Stockstill can have a full class of 25 initials (recruits) in (the 2007 signing class)," said MTSU compliance director Mike Moleta.

A top-notch recruiter, Stockstill said he will focus on filling his coaching staff and setting the organization of his new football program before diving head-long into recruiting.

"The big thing for me is getting started right now. I'm not worried about recruiting," Stockstill said. "We'll pick up in January and hit the ground running. I met with the team (Sunday) night, and I want to get to know these guys on a personal level."

Stockstill's hiring as MTSU's 14th head coach was announced Monday. He has a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $175,000. His total package, including incentives, is approximately $250,000 annually.

Stockstill said academics will be a priority in his recruiting.

"To me, as a football coach, the worst thing you can do is be worrying about if this guy is eligible or not for next year. So we've got some issues there we have to get corrected," Stockstill said. "We're going to go to class. We're going to be discipline off the field. And I told (the players) that if you walk out of here in four years or five years without your degree, then shame on you."

Under McCollum, MTSU football scored 812 (preliminary) and 892 in its two APR reports, respectively, with the scale based on a possible maximum score of 1,000 and a passing grade of 925.

Failure results in the loss of scholarships, and MTSU was penalized the maximum of 10 percent of its previously available scholarships.

"Middle Tennessee is a wonderful academic institution. They ought to be honored and proud of the opportunity here that they have to be students first," Stockstill said. "That's going to be my job as head coach and our staff's job to make sure we're doing things right academically.

"I need to get a staff hired and get the organization in place. We need to see how many we can sign and where we're going. Believe me that I'm not talking about the previous staff or anything, but we've got to bring in guys who are going to be here for four or five years and graduate.

"We're going to represent the term student-athlete to the utmost degree."

As an institution, MTSU athletics scored 918 overall in the previous annual APR report. Moleta said MTSU will score a passing grade in the next report.

"It will be a 926, maybe a 925 or 927. But I've got my own database of how the NCAA does the figures, and so we know what it will be," Moleta said. "But we're making some good progress, and that is a result of a three-year academic game plan that Dr. (Sidney) McPhee put in place. We've increased our (academic staff) by 150 percent, from two people to five. So everything is working itself out. For example, with the plan we've had in place, we can know that a student-athlete is struggling in Algebra in the second week rather than the 15th week.

"I like the direction we're headed."

WHAT IS APR?

The Academic Progress Rate ties graduation and retention rates to allotted athletic scholarships. It's based on a possible maximum score of 1,000 and passing grade of 925.

LINK TO ARTICLE

http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../512140315/1006

[untgirl04]

"To me, as a football coach, the worst thing you can do is be worrying about if this guy is eligible or not for next year. So we've got some issues there we have to get corrected," Stockstill said. "We're going to go to class. We're going to be discipline off the field. And I told (the players) that if you walk out of here in four years or five years without your degree, then shame on you."

"Middle Tennessee is a wonderful academic institution. They ought to be honored and proud of the opportunity here that they have to be students first," Stockstill said. "That's going to be my job as head coach and our staff's job to make sure we're doing things right academically.

"I need to get a staff hired and get the organization in place. We need to see how many we can sign and where we're going. Believe me that I'm not talking about the previous staff or anything, but we've got to bring in guys who are going to be here for four or five years and graduate.

"We're going to represent the term student-athlete to the utmost degree."

Wow. Stockstill may be inexperienced as a head coach, but I really like the tone he's setting. I especially like his attitude towards academics.