Robert Walker is out for 09

[CajunT]

_ I am confused by the comment "he is a recruitable athlete". If he is not eligible here, he should not be eligible anywhere. Is that correct or am I missing something. I presume he could go to JC or pay his own way to school somewhere. From the comment, he will not enroll, I gather he can't afford to pay his own way. My guess is that he spends the rest of the fall preparing for and taking another crack at the ACT. If he is successful, he could be on scholarship in the spring semester. _

Mike, it means he can sign with another program in the spring because he is not enrolled and not on scholarship at UL. It is no different then Melvin White, Jaron Odom or Cox did when they did not qualify.

[Parrott]

Enjoy!

The story

[Pirogue]

His jump was HUGE... I kinda expected this news.
I hope he does well...
He's a special talent.

[Parrott]

It's definitely a tough situation for Walker. But he has the right attitude. Thursday's story will have comments from him.

[ulforlife]

what a bummer, this dude could have played as a freshman... he'll be back! good luck robert!

[DaddyCajun]

Yeh, best of luck to the very talented young man. Son, get with the tutors and study hard, stay in shape, and get yourself into a Cajun uniform. Look forward to seeing you at Cajun Field and hearing of you Graduating from UL.

[UL_Cajuns]

_ His jump was HUGE... I kinda expected this news.
I hope he does well...
He's a special talent. _

So the jump in his ACT score from 15 to 22 was the issue. The NCAA hold this against someone? What if the ACT course he took really did help this young man out? Someone please advise me on the rules.

[SlappyCajun]

_ So the jump in his ACT score from 15 to 22 was the issue. The NCAA hold this against someone? What if the ACT course he took really did help this young man out? Someone please advise me on the rules. _

The NCAA Clearinghouse is an organization that evaluates high school transcripts and standardized test scores for all athletes are set to become NCAA athletes. They are the organization that makes sure that you receive qualifying scores, that you took the required number of courses and that there are no discrepancies in any of your records. They have also been the organization cracking down on prep schools, but that is more on the basketball side.

Anyway, I believe that since the ACT and SAT are standardized tests there is a certain threshold that they believe is a reasonable improvement goal that one person can make from one test to the next. If you improve above that amount they will flag your score and review. Obviously, they flagged Mr. Walker's score. If he takes the test again and scores similar to his higher score, they will throw the low score out as an anomaly, if he scores closer to the first score, then they will deem the higher score an anomaly.

Fair or not, it is the NCAA. The spirit behind the rule is to prevent people from cheating on the test to achieve a qualifying score. Therefore, sometimes it is in the interest of borderline academic students to wait until late to take the test, therefore with the new things they have learned they have the best chance of getting the score they need on the first try. I think Elijah Millsap was flagged coming out of high school, but eventually cleared. Also, they compare your Standardized test score to your high school work to see if it matches up.

[Bankruptcyman]

The ACT flags any dramatic jump in scores. I have defended 2 local students when the ACT was trying to throw out scores. Remember with TOPS, a couple of points in an ACT score can mean tuition payments so there is a lot at stake to retain a high score. I won both cases. If you defend your disputed score the ACT sends these cases to arbitration but you DO NOT have to abide by what the ACT bureaucrats say. The ACT issues the score and they can take it away but you do have have appeal rights. I wonder if Robert Walker had an attorney prepare and file his defense of his test scores or did he just wait for the ACT to make its determination without comment? Such things as prep courses, adderall prescriptions, tutoring, etc. can all be demonstrated to effect a higher score.

[Bankruptcyman]

Josh, was it the NCAA clearinghouse or the ACT that flagged the score and threw it out? It seems to me that if the ACT validates a score, the NCAA would have to accept it. If, however, the ACT threw out the higher ACT score then all Robert would have left would be the lower ACT score which would make him a non-qualifier according to NCAA rules. I think the problem here is with ACT not NCAA clearinghouse.

[Bankruptcyman]

What if he never gets the ACT score? Can he enroll in the spring or next fall as a Prop 48? How and when could he become a part of the team without a qualifying ACT score?

[SlappyCajun]

_ What if he never gets the ACT score? Can he enroll in the spring or next fall as a Prop 48? How and when could he become a part of the team without a qualifying ACT score? _

More than likely the flagging would have been done in part by the NCAA. If he does not receive the score, then I would believe that he would have three options.

1) Pay his own way to a Division I school for the first year, and see if he could become eligible. (I know that works in basketball, not sure if it applies to football)

2) He could go to a prep school, where he could replace one of his high school core course grades. For instance, if you can change a D to a B or A, then he would not need as high of a score on the ACT.

3) He would have to go to a junior college, graduate, then UL could re-recruit him a process that would take two years.

Option 3 is the most financially feasible to most high school athletes, because juco's offer scholarships. However, options 1 and 2 are also very attractive, because the allow the student to keep all four years of Division I eligibility.

[Parrott]

Robert told me that the NCAA flagged his score. Seeing how no one at the university provided any additional background or help, there was really no reason to think otherwise. Plus, I've dealt with similar situations in the past, and it's the NCAA calling the shots.

Josh, was it the NCAA clearinghouse or the ACT that flagged the score and threw it out? It seems to me that if the ACT validates a score, the NCAA would have to accept it. If, however, the ACT threw out the higher ACT score then all Robert would have left would be the lower ACT score which would make him a non-qualifier according to NCAA rules. I think the problem here is with ACT not NCAA clearinghouse.

igeaux.mobi

[Parrott]

If he never gets his ACT score, he could enroll as a prop and sit out a year while paying his own way. He could gain back that lost season by completing at least 80 percent of his degree requirements prior to his fifth year of college enrollment.

What if he never gets the ACT score? Can he enroll in the spring or next fall as a Prop 48? How and when could he become a part of the team without a qualifying ACT score?

igeaux.mobi

[J-Town Cajun]

What is most stupid is what is holding him back is the amount of jump in his test score. So what they are saying is that he would have been better off scoring an 18 or something versus a 22.

He could enroll at UL this Fall part-time and not lose eligibility. Many athletes do this. I believe the student has to take 9 hours or less. I would like to see Mr. Walker do this as we UL fans will know that he is staying at UL and he would feel apart of the university and could use the weight rooms to continue his conditioning.