So it's official now?

[PoconoPony]

On the academic side, I have to wonder if our athletic department and basketball staff are even doing the basics at this point.

Does anyone on the basketball staff do class checks? To be blunt, the average basketball player (and football player) is a marginal, at best, student that would prefer to be anywhere but class. Who is checking whether they're in class every day?

Do these guys have mandatory appointments with a tutor for every class they're taking at least once a week?

Do these guys have mandatory study hall periods during the week?

Does an academic advisor travel with the team to coordinate study periods while on the road?

Does the ALEC have the resources to be both the student-athlete academic support center and the academic support center for the rest of the student body? It's not about special treatment to me - it's about the fact that many of our student-athletes are only marginally capable of succeeding at a school like SMU without a lot of help. The ALEC is a great resource for students but student-athletes need dedicated support and that support needs to be proactive in helping student-athletes (ie, if Keith Frazier misses a tutoring session, he gets a call to find out why... and so does his coach).

If SMU, our AD, and our basketball staff (and football staff, golf staff, etc) aren't doing those things then we're not even doing the basics when it comes to supporting our student-athletes.

These kids are all over 18. Time they start learning how to account for themselves. SMU cannot wipe their butts every time they need to go.

[SoCal_Pony]

So you had a McDs AA with offers from UCLA, Arizona, Kansas & Florida, but in the end, was deciding between SMU, Tech & A&M, 3 at-the-time doormats.

Is there a connection to today's news?

[ponypatrick]

Fire Turner.

Did you ever consider that maybe , just maybe this is the NCAA and not SMU

[mrydel]

That is the question. Is KF ineligible because of grades at SMU, or is it due to Kimball?

[SMU2007]

That is the question. Is KF ineligible because of grades at SMU, or is it due to Kimball?

That's what I don't understand. And it's not clear onthe pay sites either

[Zman89]

I know we're disappointed from hearing this news. This might be the time for us to rally around the team and not point fingers. If the general feeling is that some faculty members don't care maybe through social media we can let the players know of resources that might be available. I'm sure the coaching staff knows what's out there but you never know how a small suggestion could make a big difference. Every time we talk to Nic school work always comes up in the conversation and let's pray for Keith. It kinda hits you when you know the person involved. Daggguummm he was turning the corner.

[JasonB]

That is the question. Is KF ineligible because of grades at SMU, or is it due to Kimball?

That's what I don't understand. And it's not clear onthe pay sites either

That's because anyone who actually knows isn't allowed to say anything to anyone by letter of the law. So it is a good thing that there is no clarity anywhere, because it means people are following the rules and SMU won't get into even more trouble.

[Pony ^]

Did KFs uncle really pass away? I sure hope not. This would be the worst few days ever for Keith.

[ECMustang]

Stanford, Duke, and GTown can recruit based on reputation and tradition - they have their pick of academically qualified candidates and don't have to roll the dice on academically risky guys like KF and MK. While I am sure we can learn something from those schools, we aren't at that level yet. LB realized this with the 2015 class.

I'm sure the blame lies with both SMU and KF. At the same time, I give MK a ton of credit for buckling down and getting himself eligible second semester. I am definitely disappointed for both Keith and SMU but will not lose faith in this team. We have come too far in such a short amount of time.

You are either oblivious or completely full of [deleted]. I know for a fact, someone who played at Duke all 4 years and was barely eligible for the NCAA Clearinghouse. One could assume KF was also barely eligible. I know numerous guys who played lacrosse at Duke and it wasn't always physics and economics. Interpretive Dance was a class full of athletes (and I'm not talking Meadows caliber dance).

Anyone who thinks all the athletes of the Dukes of the world are literate are oblivious.

[DiamondM]

Examples of ther schools with players declared academically ineligible within the last 2 years who don't support big time college athletics because they didn't do enough to keep them eligible:

Florida State (it's leading scorer from last year's bball team and a WR from football team)
UCLA (2 bball players - a freshman and a sophmore)
St. John's (1 bball player)
Texas (3 football players before bowl game)
Lousiville (Michael Dyer RB)
Georgetown (Forward on bball team in 2013 and Center on bball team in 2014)
USC (bball player in 2013)

If we went back to 2012, we could add Auburn, LSU (9 football players ruled academically ineligible), Oregon, and Georgia.

[skyscraper]

Yanick Moreira @Ymoreira35
Everyone should smile Life really isn't that serious .We make it hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process.

[ECMustang]

These kids are all over 18. Time they start learning how to account for themselves. SMU cannot wipe their butts every time they need to go.

These kids bring in a heck of a lot of money (see tickets, apparel, TV contracts) and free marketing (see ESPN all day every day, CBS Sports, FSSW, Local news channels, etc). SMU should wipe their butts.

Assuming each student on the team costs $116k, SMU is getting a [deleted] deal. Kids like KF and MK are the only reason SMU is sold out. It wasn't Larry. If you recall his first year, no one went to games except the people who went the season before, and the 100 or so new faces I saw.

I would tell SMU to use a soft wet wipe. You don't shoot the golden goose.

[EconPony'10]

Examples of ther schools with players declared academically ineligible within the last 2 years who don't support big time college athletics because they didn't do enough to keep them eligible:

Florida State (it's leading scorer from last year's bball team and a WR from football team)
UCLA (2 bball players - a freshman and a sophmore)
St. John's (1 bball player)
Texas (3 football players before bowl game)
Lousiville (Michael Dyer RB)
Georgetown (Forward on bball team in 2013 and Center on bball team in 2014)
USC (bball player in 2013)

If we went back to 2012, we could add Auburn, LSU (9 football players ruled academically ineligible), Oregon, and Georgia.

Just a blurb about Michael Dyer... "Dyer rushed for 2,335 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2010 and 2011 at Auburn and was named MVP of the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. He was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules prior to the team's 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl Game and transferred to Arkansas State.In July 2012, Dyer was dismissed by Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn after a gun was found in his vehicle during a traffic stop. He sat out the 2012 season and landed at Louisville in 2013, but was hampered by injuries."

Dyer is not exactly a stand up kid that is really trying to do well in school and study hard. Didn't research any of the others you mentioned. I don't think MK and KF are the types that are very bad kids (as far as I know) so you would think their tale is a little different then most trouble makers that find themselves ineligible.

[Puckhead48E]

Holy f*$k....what is wrong with some of you. No information outside of someone being ruled ineligible, and the sky is falling because Turner killed god. Really? We had 1 transfer who decided attending class wasn't something he wanted to do, and that is the schools fault. We had one grad student who couldn't complete 2 classes in a semester...and when given additional time to fix it, decided not to. Now we have another student who is facing this due either to academic problems now or failing a class in HS that was subsequently changed. Let's relax a bit, stop pretending like SMU is the only school that has students with academic problems, and quit with the "let's just give every athlete in football or basketball a passing grade and stop forcing them to be functioning members of the school outside of athletics" crap.

[Puckhead48E]

Examples of ther schools with players declared academically ineligible within the last 2 years who don't support big time college athletics because they didn't do enough to keep them eligible:

Florida State (it's leading scorer from last year's bball team and a WR from football team)
UCLA (2 bball players - a freshman and a sophmore)
St. John's (1 bball player)
Texas (3 football players before bowl game)
Lousiville (Michael Dyer RB)
Georgetown (Forward on bball team in 2013 and Center on bball team in 2014)
USC (bball player in 2013)

If we went back to 2012, we could add Auburn, LSU (9 football players ruled academically ineligible), Oregon, and Georgia.

Just a blurb about Michael Dyer... "Dyer rushed for 2,335 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2010 and 2011 at Auburn and was named MVP of the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. He was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules prior to the team's 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl Game and transferred to Arkansas State.In July 2012, Dyer was dismissed by Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn after a gun was found in his vehicle during a traffic stop. He sat out the 2012 season and landed at Louisville in 2013, but was hampered by injuries."

Dyer is not exactly a stand up kid that is really trying to do well in school and study hard. Didn't research any of the others you mentioned. I don't think MK and KF are the types that are very bad kids (as far as I know) so you would think their tale is a little different then most trouble makers that find themselves ineligible.

Sooo, blanket statements that the sky is falling are completely valid? Every story is different...with one exception. Every one failed to fulfill their commitments. It's the schools job to give you the opportunity to succeed as a student and as an athlete. It is the kids job to follow through, respect those responsibilities, and do their part. Shockingly, there are two parties to that equation. Seems a foreign concept to some on here...responsibility.