Pressley, while evidently not the sharpest tool in the box, still seems like a nice kid with insane (albeit raw) athleticism. He is a true freshman and this was his first quarter. I remember not doing as well my first couple quarters as I have done ever since.

Of the two athletes, I’m more disappointed in Kai. He has college experience at a respectable academic university even before UCLA. He should know better and the coaching staff should have been tracking this all along to ensure it didn’t happen.

I wonder if Texas or Alabama have any academically ineligible players? (Rhetorical question – football=academics=life in those states)

They have no tradition whatsoever and was kicked out of the Big East because of how bad they were. If people thought losing to Wyoming was bad……gawd, I don’t even want to think about it.

before the goofing around started. With grades just coming out now, I also presume that there is little, if anything, that can be done to remedy the situation after the fact.

High profile student athletes are given every leg up to succeed academically. While in a few cases, despite their best efforts and taking full advantage of their opportunities, a student/athlete will still fall short, I daresay that in the vast majority of cases they just will not have put in the effort required. If the latter applies, then the student/athlete bears sole responsibility for falling short and needs to own up to it. The good news is, that in the case of Kai Maiava, he seems to be doing just that.

but I’ll try to state why more clearly that bonecar. The fact that athletes already have academic advisers and tutors means that they already have a significant leg up. True there are college counselors available for every student, but that ratio is more like 1:500 compared to let’s say 1:20 for the athletes. Big difference in individual attention and planning.

Anyone who has gone here knows that UCLA is very much a sink or swim, no one will hold your hand type of school, which personally I love. Some people thrive on going it alone and finding their own way, while others come to find that they need a more guiding hand often found a smaller, private institutions. Obviously some athletes need that hand, and UCLA does its best to give that to them. However, there is a fine balance between providing the tools to succeed and giving too much help…like the difference between academically ineligible and NCAA sanctions.

NCAA rules state that outside of a few basic exceptions, athletes are not to receive any benefits or privileges not available to all students. This is mostly meant for things like gifts but also applies to academic support. I have no doubts that UCLA holds to this more strictly than most schools because of our high academic prestige.

If an football player is working with his counselor and going to his tutoring sessions and is still struggling academically, what is CRN to do? I suppose that he could “excuse” a player from practice and/or games if he feels that player’s grades are suffering, but that basically has the same effect as being academically ineligible.

Bottomline is that UCLA is very competitive. This is why our admission standards for athletes are high and why there are players like Javid Best that we simply cannot go after. It’s not always to maintain our reputation, but also to ensure that the athletes accepted have a chance of surviving against the best and brightest while carrying heavy schedules. If you come here to play, you know what is expected, and it is on you as a student to live up to that expectation. The university, both legally and morally, can only help so much.

Sucks loosing Hasiak considering our need and how talented he his. However, I hope he gets it together and finds his way.