jbar1221 wrote:

cruiser wrote:

How does he do it? When all else fails, he signs them up for correspondence classes and hires tutors to "help" them with their papers for those classes. Where do those correspondence courses come from?

BYU.

According to a recent book, BYU's Independent Study courses "have become the worst-kept secret in college sports" (Meat Market, Bruce Feldman, ESPN Books, 2007, 171). I have written more about this in my article for Cougar Legion this morning. http://cougarlegion.com/

I didnt read your Cougarlegion artile but it is against BYU and Im pretty sure NCAA policy for student athletes who attend schools other then BYU to take independent study classe.

College athletes from schools other than BYU are not allowed to enroll in BYU Independent Study university-level courses. This restriction applies to students who are currently eligible as well as those seeking eligibility to participate in any collegiate athletic program (e.g. NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA).

That is from BYU's website. I actually have a friend who works for Independent Study and she spent all summer tracking down athletes who were taking Independent Study classes but were not BYU students. If Pete really does this and its common knowledge its just more evidence that the NCAA has favorites and is VERY selctive in who they go after.

jbar, thank you for this clarification. Two recent books have documented this scandal: "Meat Market" and "Blind Side," and both mention Pete Carroll and USC. According to "Meat Market," BYU changed its policies in 2006 to make it more difficult for other athletic programs to use our Independent Study classes. But it also implies that some schools, even USC, continue to use these classes as a "last resort." Here is the quote:

"Still, so long as it was within NCAA rules, USC had no qualms about accepting courses from BYU. If a student-athlete was one course short, the Trojans used BYU as a last resort" (Meat Market, ESPN Books, 2007, p. 172).

I'm not sure how they continue to cheat, but it may be that the athlete does not identify his affiliation with another school when he enrolls for the classes. Also, Carroll sometimes enrolls his high school recruits in these classes to help them qualify at the NCAA Clearinghouse. The problem in this case, as I understand it, is not that a high school senior or a recent graduate is taking these classes to help him qualify for another university, it is that the tutors who "help" him with these classes may actually be doing much of the work for him. Although the students still need to pass tests under observation at an LDS Institute or in another controlled environment, they still get high marks on their papers, which helps to pull their overall grade up.

Although BYU has done about all it can to prevent this kind of abuse, some coaches will always find a way to circumvent the rules if it helps them get an advantage.

Hey I still hope he serves a mission and then comes to BYU when there is no pressure on him to go back to USC.

scott715 wrote:

Hey I still hope he serves a mission and then comes to BYU when there is no pressure on him to go back to USC.

Ive heard that sentiment a bit lately and I dont know if I agree. Ben Olsen is one of the most despised players on this board for doing what some BYU fans are hoping Kaveinga will do, going to a new school post mission. Why is it acceptable when we gain a player through a post mission transfer but if we lose a player in the same way we feel justified calling him Benedict?

Because BYU fans can be hypocrites. We love Brandon Bradley/Tom Sorensen then say Olsen is a traitor.