Latest Newbill Developments

[pbiflyer]

Boooriiiing.

This is starting to go in circles like the name change debate. It's over. People have a difference of opinion and that's it. The kid isn't coming. Good luck to him. Hopefully everyone learns from this and we are all better coaches, players, administrators and human beings. Life goes on.

Congrats AC, you have posted the most sensible, well thought out, well worded post regarding the topic!

[ChicosBailBonds]

I agree with this all having an "ick" factor in the way it played out. But my BIGGEST question about the situation: If DJ wanted so badly to come to MU, why did he not have the application/essay filled out and sent in a week before he was to arrive on campus?  True, as a 5 star it may have been done for him, but that's not the point I'm questioning.  I just want someone to explain to me, if DJ really wanted to come to MU, and he really thought he was going to play here in 2010, why was his application/essay not turned in yet?

Great question, seems one answer is the coaches were telling him to take his time with it.  If your coaches that recruit you are telling you take your time, no rush, aren't you going to listen to them?

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Bear with me on this.

I hear a lot of complaining (possibly legitimate) that DJ is now precluded from signing a NLI with any of these other BE schools that have supposedly offered him due to the BE rule that if you get released from a NLI from a member school you cannot sign with another BE school.  My guess is that rule is in there to protect the school that initially offered the NLI (MU in this case).  If IWB's account is accurate which somewhat makes MU the instigator of this situation, MU should not care if DJ is given the opportunity to sign with another BE school.  Can't MU petition the BE for a waiver of this rule in DJ's case?  Wouldn't that assuage somewhat the situation (and also help on the PR front here)?

[bilsu]

You're plainly wrong here. There was no valid contract. Read the language associated of the letter of intent. It clearly states that the deal is binding if - and only if - the school admits the student. Marquette University did not admit DJ Newbill. Heck, even if they wanted to, they couldn't have admitted DJ Newbill. Therefore, there is no binding contract.
On top of that, MU is under no obligation to admit a prospective student - athlete or not - simply because he has submitted an application. that's the point some are missing. It doesn't matter whether he submitted an application or not. Marquette has every right to deny him admission, application and all.

If there is no valid contract, than there is no basis for Newbill not being allowed to sign with another Big East school. The NLI should be challenged in court, because it will result in a better contract in the future. A contract that gives all the power to the schools needs to be changed. 

[CAINMUTINY]

Legally speaking a recruit never needs to sign a LOI in order to attend a school however it is the norm for them to do so.  So unfortunately the best advice to future recruits would be to not sign a LOI at all.

[marquette99]

Guys - bradfoster has put up great stuff so don't go after him - he has a great perspective and made it clear he is just passing on info because he has access and he happened to have just interviewed people.  I don't happen to believe a 2-star (scout) and very low 3-star (rivals) had other BE offers, but I certainly don't fault bradfoster for reporting what is being said. Keep posting great stuff BradFoster and sorry you got stuck in the middle of this.

[mu_hilltopper]

Anyone help me with something .. what's the recruiting sequence?

* Coaches look at player
* Coach delivers an offer of scholarship
* Player verbal
* Player writes NLI

Are these out of order somehow?   Prior to DJN writing out a NLI, he was offered a scholarship by MU, right? 

Or is an "offer" optional?  Could you write an NLI without one?

I guess the guy in me who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night and isn't a lawyer sees an "offer, then acceptance" contract.    Any actual JDs out there see it a different way?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Guys - bradfoster has put up great stuff so don't go after him - he has a great perspective and made it clear he is just passing on info because he has access and he happened to have just interviewed people.  I don't happen to believe a 2-star (scout) and very low 3-star (rivals) had other BE offers, but I certainly don't fault bradfoster for reporting what is being said. Keep posting great stuff BradFoster and sorry you got stuck in the middle of this.

So you don't believe Rosiak, then, when he says he was offered by West Virginia?  Why don't you believe Rosiak?

[texaswarrior74]

Since it appears that neither Newbill nor his coach and family "understood" that the offer was conditional and that prep school was the alternative if "things" changed, maybe they also interpreted contact and interest by WVU to be an offer. People often hear what they want to hear when they want something badly enough....this sounds like the case to me.... on all fronts. It's unfortunate for the kid, especially if prep school then MU in 2011 was truly an option and he now wants nothing to do with that chance.

Let's give this a rest; we are beating a dead horse.

[Jay Bee]

Are these out of order somehow?   Prior to DJN writing out a NLI, he was offered a scholarship by MU, right? 

Or is an "offer" optional?  Could you write an NLI without one?

  Kids don't "write out" an NLI.  They sign it, as does the institution.  When a prospective student-athlete receives an NLI to sign, they must also have received an offer of athletics financial aid for an academic year.  However, that financial aid offer and the NLI is null and void if the student is not admitted to the institution.

  In other words, there must be an offer, but it is a conditional offer.

[Pakuni]

So you don't believe Rosiak, then, when he says he was offered by West Virginia?  Why don't you believe Rosiak?

Let's be clear here. Rosiak did not say Newbill had an offer from West Virginia.
Rosiak reported that Newbill said he had an offer from West Virginia.

"Newbill said he chose MU over fellow Big East rival West Virginia, which still had a scholarship offer on the table, along with Philadelphia-area schools LaSalle and Drexel. Newbill said Villanova didn't pursue him because of its depth at guard heading into next season."
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/83175597.html

Did Newbill have an offer from WVU? I have no idea. Neither do you. I don't see why he'd lie about it, but the only people who know for sure are Newbill and West Virginia.

[MUSF]

Let's be clear here. Rosiak did not say Newbill had an offer from West Virginia.
Rosiak reported that Newbill said he had an offer from West Virginia.

"Newbill said he chose MU over fellow Big East rival West Virginia, which still had a scholarship offer on the table, along with Philadelphia-area schools LaSalle and Drexel. Newbill said Villanova didn't pursue him because of its depth at guard heading into next season."
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/83175597.html

Did Newbill have an offer from WVU? I have no idea. Neither do you. I don't see why he'd lie about it, but the only people who know for sure are Newbill and West Virginia.

I doubt we'll ever really know unless another Big East school is willing to offer him now.  I find it hard to believe that there is another Big East school that has a scholarship offer on the table for Newbill at this point, which would make all of this talk about getting an exception to policy moot. 

I could be wrong.

[dennycrane]

You're plainly wrong here. There was no valid contract. Read the language associated of the letter of intent. It clearly states that the deal is binding if - and only if - the school admits the student. Marquette University did not admit DJ Newbill. Heck, even if they wanted to, they couldn't have admitted DJ Newbill. Therefore, there is no binding contract.
On top of that, MU is under no obligation to admit a prospective student - athlete or not - simply because he has submitted an application. that's the point some are missing. It doesn't matter whether he submitted an application or not. Marquette has every right to deny him admission, application and all.

Marquette has used that loophole at least twice now. Once with Saunders and now with Newbill. Although in Newbill's case it is not as clear what justification they are relying upon. Several excuses have been thrown against wall with none adhering.

[TJ]

I doubt we'll ever really know unless another Big East school is willing to offer him now.  I find it hard to believe that there is another Big East school that has a scholarship offer on the table for Newbill at this point, which would make all of this talk about getting an exception to policy moot. 

I could be wrong.

There probably is no BE scholarship available to him now, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one in April.  Maybe not, but you can't take where he ends up now to be indicative of where he would have ended up without ever signing with MU.

[MarqBB77-03]

Does anyone really believe that the Marquette administration would allow the basketball coach to treat a prospective student athelete in the manner suggested?  No way.

[brewcity77]

Does anyone really believe that the Marquettw administration would allow the basketball coach to treat a prospective student athelete in the manner suggested?  No way.

In what manner? To allow the prospective student-athlete to sign a letter of intent to join Marquette as a full-scholarship athlete and then pull that scholarship back? I don't think anyone is disputing that.

[dennycrane]

Does anyone really believe that the Marquettw administration would allow the basketball coach to treat a prospective student athelete in the manner suggested?  No way.

Did they allow it when Saunders was not admitted up against the beginning of fall semester? Did they allow it when Roseboro was cut loose mid summer? Did they allow Newbill's NLI to be revoked?

What evidence is there that the administration would not let those things happen?

[Nukem2]

No one here has the facts nor is anyone here privy to other considerations that unknown to us and factored into the situation.   

[TJ]

No one here has the facts nor is anyone here privy to other considerations that unknown to us and factored into the situation.   

You say that like we know nothing.  We know some facts...

In what manner? To allow the prospective student-athlete to sign a letter of intent to join Marquette as a full-scholarship athlete and then pull that scholarship back? I don't think anyone is disputing that.

[MarqBB77-03]

I do not think that the administration would allow the basketball coach to renege on what Marquette's commitment was to Newbill.  In fact, I do not think that Marquette can withdraw the NLI.  I believe Newbill has to ask for his release.

[Pakuni]

If there is no valid contract, than there is no basis for Newbill not being allowed to sign with another Big East school. The NLI should be challenged in court, because it will result in a better contract in the future. A contract that gives all the power to the schools needs to be changed.  

And he may be permitted to attend another BE school.
If you read the language of the Big East transfer rules, namely section 3 under Special Notes in the document linked, a student whose NLI is declared "Null and Void" may transfer from one Big East school to another. The question is whether by him signing a release of his NLI, does that meet the standards for "null and void." I'm sure someone knows.

http://www.msnsportsnet.com/content/BigEastTransfer.pdf

What you also must understand is that no player needs to sign a NLI. Choosing not to will not prevent a player from accepting a scholarship to the school of his choice. So, I'm not sure a court would force the NCAA (a private organization free to set its own rules) to change a voluntary program like that. If any player finds the provisions of the NLI untenable, he can simply choose not to sign it.

[WarriorHal]

Bottom line is we got a bigger and almost certainly a better player who will be ready to make a major contribution the season after next. The way it happened is perhaps unfortunate. But this is big time college basketball. Buzz has to do whatever he can within the rules to put together the best team possible. He's doing just fine.

[MarqBB77-03]

The University cannot pull the letter of intent according the NCAA:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/ncaa/NCAA/Legislation%20and%20Governance/Eligibility%20and%20Recruiting/Faqs/nli_financial_aid.html

Newbill must request his release in order for Marquette to get out of the NLI.

[bilsu]

That is absolutely not true. Read it again. It is only after the player is admitted. MU did not admit Newbill and therefore he is not protected by NLI. Once admitted both parties are bound by the NLI.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Does anyone really believe that the Marquette administration would allow the basketball coach to treat a prospective student athelete in the manner suggested?  No way.

You meant to put that in teal, right?