Beth Sullivan making headlines at UT

The dirtiest Sanchez wrote:

On life support?!!! Get a freakin clue. It is a setback no worse than a freshman coming in and getting a stress fracture. Things happen. So much drama!! Your kids an transfer. I am betting that 80% of these posts are from the parents of these poor babies. Spend some time looking at a school for your child to go to or better yet, let them do some work to find a school.

Pretty much this. From the evidence available, the coach's decision seems pretty cold. But Jesus Christ, the athletes' lives haven't been ruined. They will be able to run somewhere, and they will be able to get a college education for free (this latter point seems to be lost on the parents in the article, one of whom states that the daughter went to UT to run... I would have thought that she went to UT to get an education, and that being able to earn a scholarship for running was a side benefit).

PoisonIvy wrote:

But the girls scholarships are being honored through the year and not being cancelled immediately. Wouldn't signing someone from a JUCO or from overseas for January put Tennessee over the NCAA limit for scholarships?

Or were you thinking about signing kids for for the fall of 2015?

Just a thought.

Beth is gambling that they will transfer in December. They practically have to...

Many college freshmen don't have a car and live on campus. It would probably be nearly impossible for them to practice off campus. They can only access the track when the team is not practicing, and they have probably already built their class schedule around team practice. The team is probably there most of the daylight afternoon/evening hours, so they may have to practice in the dark, if the facility leaves the lights on. They won't have access to starting blocks. Does the school leave the hurdles out? Some do and some don't... Tennessee is probably a big enough school that the regular student weight room would meet their needs, but they now have zero access to athletic trainers.

The next few months are going to be challenging. Their training conditions will be less than ideal, and do they have the maturity and guidance to stick with a good training program? If they transfer in December, they will want to compete immediately, but will they be ready.

And that's part of the horrible thing about this... the semester is far enough along that they absolutely have to finish it out. And they have such a short turn around time to make a major decision about what school to attend, and you pretty much have to get it perfect, because you can transfer once without much trouble, but if you want to transfer twice, you're either going down a division or sitting out a year.

Good assessment.

WRONG! It happens every day. There is no tied up money it's a yearly contract. The girls aid isn't free until next year whether or not they are on the team now. The coach has the right to drop the entire team each year if she chooses. It shows our ignorance of the rules.

Positive Contribution wrote:

You all must understand that Sullivan lives in her own world detached from reality.

She was far removed from the world we all occupied when I ran at Penn State that it was comical. We literally had jokes going about how out of touch she was with reality. Her narcissism knows no boundaries.

Like I said earlier the funny thing she should of canned Sam Borchers multiple times and the entire team would have supported it. Yet, she constantly held his hand to the detriment of the team.

And yet you supported her when you were there.

Nobody is talking about the NLI stipulation that you must stay at your original school for one academic year or have to wait two semesters at your new school before being eligible;

Basic Penalty

I understand that if I do not attend the institution named in this document for one full academic year and I enroll in another institution participating in the NLI program, I may not compete in intercollegiate athletics until I have completed one full academic year in residence at the latter institution. Further, I understand I shall be charged with the loss of one season of intercollegiate athletics competition in all sports. This is in addition to any seasons of competition used at any institution.

NLI rules wrote:

Nobody is talking about the NLI stipulation that you must stay at your original school for one academic year or have to wait two semesters at your new school before being eligible;

Basic Penalty

I understand that if I do not attend the institution named in this document for one full academic year and I enroll in another institution participating in the NLI program, I may not compete in intercollegiate athletics until I have completed one full academic year in residence at the latter institution. Further, I understand I shall be charged with the loss of one season of intercollegiate athletics competition in all sports. This is in addition to any seasons of competition used at any institution.

Not sure if this applies when they are being dismissed. This rule can be appealed is my guess.

It doesn't matter if she is released by the coach, and if not she'd win an appeal. Everyone on here talking about the situation doesn't help the poor girls causes. It makes the situation high drama, and people don't want to be a part of the drama. The girls can go to a school in any conference other than the SEC and compete on aid next year, and if they play their cards right and train hard and run a few meets unattached with fast times they can get a better deal somewhere else. They can also transfer in the SEC and sit for a season, if the conference is that important to them. I'd suggest signing a 4 year deal with a B1G ten team if I were in their shoes. You only get a 1 time transfer exception, and the next coach could decide to reduce the aid down year two, and the girls wold have no recourse.

justthefacts wrote:

NLI rules wrote:

Nobody is talking about the NLI stipulation that you must stay at your original school for one academic year or have to wait two semesters at your new school before being eligible;

Basic Penalty

I understand that if I do not attend the institution named in this document for one full academic year and I enroll in another institution participating in the NLI program, I may not compete in intercollegiate athletics until I have completed one full academic year in residence at the latter institution. Further, I understand I shall be charged with the loss of one season of intercollegiate athletics competition in all sports. This is in addition to any seasons of competition used at any institution.

Not sure if this applies when they are being dismissed. This rule can be appealed is my guess.

Alan Scharsu wrote:

Please tell us what school you are attached to so that we can steer our kids away from it. Don't take that personally, because according to you, we will save both our time and energy.

Your silence was deafening while BAS.was at Penn State. Better late to the party then never I suppose.

I can count on one finger the number of alums who spoke out against her. Care to guess which finger?

Has anyone noticed that there are no coaches or athletes that have come out, by name, and stood up in support of this reprehensible person? The UT athletic department won't even do it. They are hoping it will all just go away.

the 3 walk-ons didn't sign an NLI.

malmo wrote:

Alan Scharsu wrote:

Please tell us what school you are attached to so that we can steer our kids away from it. Don't take that personally, because according to you, we will save both our time and energy.

Your silence was deafening while BAS.was at Penn State. Better late to the party then never I suppose.

I can count on one finger the number of alums who spoke out against her. Care to guess which finger?

...thumb?

I think the parents are gambling by blowing this story up even further. It could potentially benefit them if this goes to court and they win, but at the same time it could backfire and cause some schools to stay away from them because of all the drama. The last thing that a school wants is a helicopter parent that is already in the headlines wanting to sue a university.

Of course if you do not sign the NLI then those rules don't apply! The three that did will need to file for a waiver to be released from their NLI contract. That's what it is, a signed contract that hopefully everyone reads and is aware of the ramifications of not fulfilling the contract. Not a great situation for any of those three who would like to transfer mid-year to a SEC school. You'd need two waivers to be eligible immediately.

I don't think the parents are acting risky or in a way that would cause me to call them "helicopter parents", at all. I will gladly take a 59s 400h on my team.

malmo wrote:

Alan Scharsu wrote:

Please tell us what school you are attached to so that we can steer our kids away from it. Don't take that personally, because according to you, we will save both our time and energy.

Your silence was deafening while BAS.was at Penn State. Better late to the party then never I suppose.

I can count on one finger the number of alums who spoke out against her. Care to guess which finger?

George,

No reason to take a shot at me. I did state that I didn't think she was a good fit many times, even on this website. I don't know what you expected.

I also know one coach who would gladly say "I told you so", in much more colorful terminology....

malmo wrote:

Has anyone noticed that there are no coaches or athletes that have come out, by name, and stood up in support of this reprehensible person? The UT athletic department won't even do it. They are hoping it will all just go away.

Obviously, in a situation like this all student athletes and staff are encouraged by the University to stay away from the media and other outside sources requesting inside information. All Universities do this when a situation like this occurs.

I can assure you that the current athletes and staff are happy with the direction of the program and it's new Director of Track and Field.

The 6 young ladies that were let go will be fine in the long run. Yes, it must be very difficult for these individuals and their families right now, but they will get through it. The sky is still the limit for their future.

NLI rules wrote:

Of course if you do not sign the NLI then those rules don't apply! The three that did will need to file for a waiver to be released from their NLI contract. That's what it is, a signed contract that hopefully everyone reads and is aware of the ramifications of not fulfilling the contract. Not a great situation for any of those three who would like to transfer mid-year to a SEC school. You'd need two waivers to be eligible immediately.

Correct that the NLI rules do not apply to the walk-ons, but all of the other transfer restrictions still do :(