NCAA Eligibility Question

[PurdueBrad]

So rapper Lil Romeo is going to play basketball at USC. How does his career effect his eligibility? I remember Jeremy Bloom's issues with his snowboarding and I remember Darnell Autry being told he couldn't take a movie role due to his eligibility at Northwestern. What is the difference with Lil Romeo?

For link, btw, here: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?s...v=ap&type=lgns

[marc]

Tim Floyd really has sold his soul to the devil. First he takes OJ Mayo and now he takes Lil Romeo simply for the fact that he's close with big time prospect Demarr Derozan as well as Renardo Sidney who is another big time prospect in the 2009 class.

[Mike D]

Originally Posted by marc

Tim Floyd really has sold his soul to the devil. First he takes OJ Mayo and now he takes Lil Romeo simply for the fact that he's close with big time prospect Demarr Derozan as well as Renardo Sidney who is another big time prospect in the 2009 class.

And, the fact that one Recruiting Service ranks him in the top 15 of prep PGs. I'm sure that has nothing to do with it.

[marc]

Originally Posted by Mike D

And, the fact that one Recruiting Service ranks him in the top 15 of prep PGs. I'm sure that has nothing to do with it.

Sorry, but no other major D1 schools were recruiting this kid. Just like the services that rated MJ's son Jeffrey high based on his name.

None of the respected services have this kid rated anywhere near the top 15 PG's either.

This was a ploy for publicity and to get Derozan, period.

[mikev]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

So rapper Lil Romeo is going to play basketball at USC. How does his career effect his eligibility? I remember Jeremy Bloom's issues with his snowboarding and I remember Darnell Autry being told he couldn't take a movie role due to his eligibility at Northwestern. What is the difference with Lil Romeo?

For link, btw, here: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?s...v=ap&type=lgns

Doesn't eligibility only apply when it's regarding being paid to play other sports? If not, any high school kid that's ever had a job would be ineligible to play in the NCAA

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

So rapper Lil Romeo is going to play basketball at USC. How does his career effect his eligibility? I remember Jeremy Bloom's issues with his snowboarding and I remember Darnell Autry being told he couldn't take a movie role due to his eligibility at Northwestern. What is the difference with Lil Romeo?

For link, btw, here: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?s...v=ap&type=lgns

Darnell Autry couldn't take the movie role, because the NCAA rules at the time forbid players from taking summer jobs.

I don't see how that's related to Lil Romeo.

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by marc

Tim Floyd really has sold his soul to the devil. First he takes OJ Mayo and now he takes Lil Romeo simply for the fact that he's close with big time prospect Demarr Derozan as well as Renardo Sidney who is another big time prospect in the 2009 class.

No need to complain, as long as what he did is helping the team and the school. It's not his fault that USC can offer a lot of non-sports related incentives most other school can't. It would be horrible if Floyd didn't do what he did.

[marc]

Originally Posted by Skipaway

No need to complain, as long as what he did is helping the team and the school. It's not his fault that USC can offer a lot of non-sports related incentives most other school can't. It would be horrible if Floyd didn't do what he did.

I'm not complaining about it, if he wants to waste a scholarship to get Derozan, that's his own problem.

It just wouldn't totally shock me if USC was put on probation in the next 5 years, that's all. I'm amazed that Mayo is eligible to play college basketball.

[Splitter24]

I don't really follow college basketball (no jokes please , Marc ). But I read the Lil Romeo article on ESPN. He averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists in high school.

Now, I don't know the calibre of competition of Beverly Hills High or who they play, but shouldn't his numbers be a little better than that? Don't most top-15 high school prospects average over 20 points per game because they're that much better than high school competition? Or at least be dishing out more assists? He must be some super-defender. Or at least somebody famous.

I agree with Marc.

[yankeesrule]

think the difference here is lil romeo's been rapping for a while whereas the others could get paid more for their specific roles than others with similar talents relative to the activity would receive. Plus maybe lil romeo just cant do any records while hes on scholarship?

[yankeesrule]

also, for what its worth, rivals doesn't even have him ranked but hes a 2-star

[KurtBevacqua]

The NCAA rules on accepting money work on a couple of fronts.

First, I don't even pretend to understand how Bloom couldn't take money for skiing while playing college football, but there are several college football players who accept money to play minor league baseball over the summer. Dixon at Oregon is but one example.

Next, I do know if you are on a full scholarship you cannot have a job while you are enrolled in classes (or maybe it's while your sport is being played). So what you end up with is Oklahoma football players getting paid for "summer jobs" they never actually did anything for but during the season or school year they cannot work. However if a guy on a D-1 team is not on a full ride he can work and make money. I had a very small track scholarship and was allowed to work in the library for minimum wage.

This Romeo kid probably has more than enough money to pay his own way at USC so he could easily just enroll, walk on the team, and still make money recording music.

[Big Hugg]

Originally Posted by KurtBevacqua

First, I don't even pretend to understand how Bloom couldn't take money for skiing while playing college football, but there are several college football players who accept money to play minor league baseball over the summer. Dixon at Oregon is but one example.

It has to do with who is paying them. Accepting money to play baseball is different from excepting money from sponsors in order to fund your skiing career because you're being paid by sponsors, not by a team itself. If he was being paid by a ski team to ski, I doubt it'd be a problem.

Not saying I necessarily agree with that logic, but I imagine that is the logic.

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by KurtBevacqua

This Romeo kid probably has more than enough money to pay his own way at USC so he could easily just enroll, walk on the team, and still make money recording music.

I could be wrong, but I don't think the NCAA rules differentiate between scholarship players and walk-ons.

[yankeesrule]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

I could be wrong, but I don't think the NCAA rules differentiate between scholarship players and walk-ons.

yea, pretty sure its the same for scholly and walk-ons. otherwise, you'd have teams with a bunch of "walkons" or whatever "working" at the local car dealership or whatever local big shot booster and getting well more than what his scholarship covers

[Skipaway]

Maybe Lil Romeo can work for free and make music for charity albums released by his dad?

[KurtBevacqua]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

I could be wrong, but I don't think the NCAA rules differentiate between scholarship players and walk-ons.

It does differentiate. As I said, I had a partial (a very small part) scholarship and was allowed to work. The guys on our team with full rides were not. How can you expect a guy paying his own way through college to get by without allowing him/her to have a job? There definitely is a difference.

[KurtBevacqua]

Ah, I found a link that explains employment eligibility for athletes

http://www.unhwildcats.com/index.cfm...3F1949157379F6

A student-athlete may earn up to the value of a full athletic scholarship, plus money through employment during the academic year, provided:

The student-athlete and his/her employer register with the compliance office and the records are to be kept on file in the Athletic Department.

The following rules are applicable to any type of student-athlete employment, whether during the academic year or summer:

The rate of pay must be the normal rate for the duties performed
The hours paid must be the hours worked
Payment in advance of hours worked is not permitted
Transportation to work may be provided only if transportation is available to other non-athlete employees in similar positions.
Summer and vacation period employment do not count in the student-athlete's limit on financial aid.

So athletes can make enough money up to the cost of a full scholarship. So full scholarship athletes cannot work because they already are getting the full benefit while partial scholarship guys can earn enough money to get them up to the amount of a full scholarship. This explains the situation I had as I lost some of my scholarship when my job kicked in and my total aid package got too high. I always thought that was a bookkeeping decision by the university to save some money, but now I see it was just to keep them in compliance with NCAA rules.

I know this link is from the rules used at the University of New Hampshire, but I've pulled up similar webpages from several other universities and they all say pretty much the same thing. Athletes can earn income or financial aid up to the amount established in a full scholarship and that's it. Anymore than that and whatever aid they get from the university will be docked at a level sufficient to compensate for the overage earned. So it's really not in a student's best interest to earn too much money. As for an artist like Romeo who surely makes more than the amount of a full scholarship, I'm really not sure what happens as he surely doesn't need financial aid from the university so they cannot dock his aid. As long as he's not getting endorsement money for his athletics I don't know if there's not a whole lot the NCAA can do about it.

[marc]

Originally Posted by marc

I'm not complaining about it, if he wants to waste a scholarship to get Derozan, that's his own problem.

It just wouldn't totally shock me if USC was put on probation in the next 5 years, that's all. I'm amazed that Mayo is eligible to play college basketball.