Though it is commonly inferred that suspended football players are barred from practice and games, few actually know the loss of privileges and scholarship implications that ensue with an indefinite suspension.
GIFTED ATHLETES BATTLE THE COURTS
Virginia Tech wide receiver Zach Luckett, a redshirt sophomore, was expected to make a big impact for the Hokies this season. Instead, he was suspended indefinitely before the opening game.
On Aug. 17, Luckett was arrested for driving under the influence, his second in as many years, and for driving on a suspended license. Tests showed that he had a .16 blood alcohol content at the time of his arrest.
Though the DUI was Luckett's first in Blacksburg, he has had a series of legal troubles since enrolling at Tech, including a public urination charge that he was fined for in August 2006 and a seatbelt violation in November 2006 for which he was also fined. In the summer of 2007, Luckett was charged with a failure to stop at the scene of an accident, a charge that was later dismissed.
Because of Luckett's most recent offenses, he has faced disciplinary action from both the football team and judicial affairs office.
Tech's alcohol-policy states, "if you are arrested or receive a summons for an alcohol related violation within either the town of Blacksburg or Montgomery County, your case will also be referred to the Virginia Tech judicial system for further action."
For major offenses, including DUIs and other criminal actions that seriously endanger a student's well-being, students face deferred suspensions. Students are required to take alcohol awareness classes or face suspension.
"They gave me three sessions of in-depth counseling where you talk to someone and they try to see what happened and if you have alcohol problems," Luckett said.
Luckett added that he has much more interaction with the players than the coaches since his suspension began. Thus far, he said that the talks with his teammates have been uplifting.
"I see the guys on the team a lot on campus on the weekdays and on weekends, but I don't see the coaches too much," Luckett said. His teammates, "are telling me to stay strong, encouraging me to keep my head up and keep moving forward. Letting me know that whenever I am allowed to come back they'll be there for me. They tell me they're playing for me."
Luckett has a disposition hearing on Thursday, but was unsure of how he would plead. The outcome of the hearing will play a significant role in Luckett's status on the football team.
"The court date is Thursday, and I'll talk to Coach after that," Luckett said. "I come back and talk to the coaches once a week to let them know what's going on. My lawyer is handling everything."
Luckett is presently allowed to use the academic services provided for athletes, though he is barred from all the sporting facilities that the team can use.
But Luckett said that he is working out regularly to prepare himself, just not in the team weight room.
"I'm working out at McComas and playing basketball," Luckett said. "I go alone right after my classes. I have late class every day, so after that I go and stay in shape by playing basketball. I meet with (the academic) counselor once a week."
Though Luckett has now missed four games, he remains optimistic for the remainder of the season, and fully expects to be reinstated to the team. He has been studying the playbook and preparing to return to the team.
"(My teammates) are letting me know that whenever I am allowed to come back they'll be there for me," Luckett said. "I'll be a little slow at wide receiver, but after I get two or three games in I'll be back. I've just been watching other people play, so I'll be ready when the call comes."
Luckett said he has experienced personal growth since the incident.
"I've been out for four games and gotten everything together as far as myself and moving in the right direction goes," Luckett said. "Even before that DUI I was moving in the right direction. It was my fault, and I'm trying to make a positive out of the whole situation. The coaches know that, and I think they understand that."
THE MARCUS VICK YEARS
Luckett isn't the first Hokie football prospect to find himself in difficult legal waters. Marcus Vick was expected by some to return the Hokies to a national championship game, but after years of struggle on and off the field, Vick developed a lengthy legal record. He was suspended several times and eventually kicked off the team entirely.
Vick was convicted on charges of contributing to the delinquency of three underage girls in a January 2004 incident. These charges were later dropped in exchange for an out-of-court settlement in Sept. 2008.
Later, in July 2004, Vick was stopped for driving 88 mph in a 65-mph zone and charged with reckless driving and possession of marijuana. After this incident, Vick was suspended from the team for the fall semester.
Though Vick was removed from suspension by university President Charles Steger, Vick received a stern warning.
"If there is any more trouble, his Virginia Tech career is effectively ended," Steger said in a 2004 press conference.
Though the warning was given before the 2005 season, Vick's legal troubles continued with little university intervention. In a game against West Virginia in October 2005, Vick made an obscene gesture toward a group of fans in Morgantown. The university took no action.
Tech turned a blind eye again in December 2005 when Vick was arrested in Southeast Virginia for speeding and charged with driving on a suspended or revoked license.
Vick was dismissed from the team permanently in January 2006 after he stomped on the calf of Louisville Cardinals lineman Elvis Dumervil in the Hokies' Gator Bowl win.
Perhaps the main difference between Luckett and Vick is accountability. While Luckett acknowledges his mistake and looks to move past it with the team, Vick showed marginal remorse.
"It's not a big deal," Vick told The Virginian-Pilot in 2006. "I'll just move on to the next level, baby."
VARSITY SPORTS PERKS – THE ACADEMIC SIDE
Though the major draws to a football program are largely mirrored around the country, Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver noted that the Hokies' facilities might be intriguing for Tech's football recruits.Perhaps the most widely recognized benefit for athletes by non-student athletes is access to Merryman Athletic Facility for strength and conditioning."What we try to do is give our young people the best system that we can in terms of support," Weaver said. "They are permitted to have academic counseling, strength and conditioning, access to equipment ... and athletic training."
At Tech, Weaver said that the support system for athletes is a privilege, not a right. Weaver said that when an athlete is suspended from a team, the coach makes the final call on what the individual player is permitted to do.
"(The coach) could say to John Doe or Jane Doe, 'You're not going to be actively practicing or participating with the team for the rest of the semester. You can use the weight room, but don't use it during the hours the team works out,'" Weaver said.
Though it is not uncommon for coaches to revoke all team-related privileges, Weaver said that rarely would athletes have their academic counseling options taken away.
Shauna Cobb, assistant director for athletics compliance stressed the university's emphasis on academia.
"If you can't participate, you can at least stay up on your academics," Cobb said. "Unless it was something that occurred that was so severe that the coaches said, 'We are going to bar you from all athletic facilities.'"
SUSPENDED, BUT STILL ON SCHOLARSHIP
While Luckett is currently not allowed to practice or participate in games, Ballein said that Luckett is still on scholarship with the university, and has had his fall semester's tuition paid for in its entirety.
Vick's scholarship was revoked by Tech before summer practice for the 2004 season began. Vick could not play in the fall season, but was able to return to the team in 2005.
"Once you start practice in the fall, your scholarship is in place," Ballein said. "Let's say a guy got in trouble today. You can't take their scholarship away now. Their tuition has already been paid."
Ballein said that the scholarship could be revoked for spring semester if an athlete was suspended in the fall. The athletics department declined to comment on the status of Luckett's scholarship in the spring.
Barry Simmons, Tech's director of scholarships and financial aid, said that a university pulling a scholarship is rare, and would typically have to be the result of a serious disciplinary act.
"Removing a scholarship takes pretty egregious action," Simmons said, though he would not clarify what is classified as "egregious."
Because Luckett is from Mays Landing, N.J., his scholarship covers full out-of-state tuition at Tech – a scholarship guaranteed at least through the fall semester, though he may not see Worsham Field again until 2009. The status of his scholarship will be evaluated again before the spring semester.
"(Coaches) are allowed to say, 'We're going to pay for this semester, but not for next,'" Ballein said. "It would still count in the (number of scholarships NCAA permits for the football team in a given year), but you won't be paying for the student."
Ballein added that rarely does the university administration get involved in suspending a player from a sports team. Rather, head coaches and judicial affairs are primarily responsible for the disciplinary measures.
The Office of Judicial Affairs did not return phone calls to the Collegiate Times.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Though an athlete may be suspended for the season from a particular sport, he or she will not necessarily lose a scholarship. In most cases, the NCAA leaves discipline up to the school.
When it comes to scholarship money, Lisa Rudd, the assistant director of athletics for financial affairs, said that her office processes the requests for revoking and applying scholarships.
"If we get a note from the coach that says to cancel it, we cancel it," Rudd said. "Sometimes they don't re-award it at all."
Gary Steck, assistant business manager in the athletic department, said that scholarships are a commodity and not always re-awarded immediately. Scholarships are given and taken away on a case-by-case basis.
"They are precious, so they won't just give it out because it's available," Steck said.
In football, only full scholarships are offered. These are granted one year at a time, though Simmons said that many student athletes often mistakenly think they are offered four-year plans.
NCAA rules regulate the number of scholarships at 85, but do not set a maximum monetary value. At Tech, the value of a scholarship is established based on several factors.
"We base the value on budgetary things," Steck said. "There is a certain amount of scholarships based on the cost of attendance, a number that is predetermined in conjunction with the financial aid office. Full scholarships provide five components: full tuition, full fees, room, board and books. The number is determined with the financial aid office."
Virginia Tech's website estimates the total cost of in-state attendance at between $13,674 and $15,900 per year and the cost of out-of-state attendance between $26,301 and $28,527.
Just as the university is responsible for assessing each athlete's scholarship, Tech's coaches are also accountable for deciding when to take the financial aid packages away.
In the event that a football scholarship is removed, Simmons said that the money is recycled into the fund for the following year.
Though students can remain on scholarship while suspended from a sports team, if they are suspended from the university they are no longer eligible for financial aid. In order to receive scholarship money, a student must be enrolled in 12 or more credit hours. Revoking a scholarship is done on a team-by-team basis, as there are no set university guidelines.
Cobb said that when the university suspends a student-athlete, the NCAA does not typically place additional sanctions on them.
"Once their suspension is lifted, they would have access to every facility that any student-athlete would, and they would have access to everything other student-athletes would, unless the coach decides to put stricter sanctions down," Cobb said.
Cobb added that precedent plays a role when determining punishments.
"We have a database, so we go in, look at similar violations and see what those schools did, and then do something along the same lines," Cobb said. "We know (the NCAA) won't come back and say our sanctions weren't harsh enough then."
If a player on scholarship leaves the program voluntarily during the fall semester -- such as by leaving the university or graduating -- Steck said that the university has the option to do a "mid-year replacement," a move where the money could be re-allocated in the spring semester.
On the contrary, if a scholarship athlete is removed from the university's team for disciplinary causes, the scholarship is not eligible to be re-assigned, Cobb said.
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