SMU/Erwin Sued for Scholarship

[August]

http://cbs11tv.com/sports/SMU.womens.So ... 09192.html

[redpony]

Perhaps now our AD will do something (or be forced to do something) to restore the women's soccer program and get rid of this pathetic coach.

GO PONIES!!!

[ponytony]

Part of their story doesn't make sense. They state there was nothing in writing promising a 100% scholarship. Based on the bill they received three weeks after school started, the NLI must have been closer to 50%. The NLI was signed in February of her last year of high school. So why are they claiming shock when the bill came? If they were promised something they didn't receive, the shock should have come six months before school started when the national letter of intent was presented (and signed). Doesn't make sense.

[August]

Erwin asked her to start at SMU in what would have been the spring semester of her Senior year of HS. She enrolled in January of that year and then was told that she did not have a scholarship - all before the regular signing date for her class.

[SMUFan]

Part of their story doesn't make sense. They state there was nothing in writing promising a 100% scholarship. Based on the bill they received three weeks after school started, the NLI must have been closer to 50%. The NLI was signed in February of her last year of high school. So why are they claiming shock when the bill came? If they were promised something they didn't receive, the shock should have come six months before school started when the national letter of intent was presented (and signed). Doesn't make sense.

Yeah, but the way it's presented offers more fodder for the anti-coach faction.
I don't know what was promised and what wasn't, just like everyone else here. But at some point, I assume this will be dismissed, as scholarships are renewable one-year agreements, and even if there was some sort of handshake agreement on future financial, aid, it wasn't written in a binding (yet) contract. I don't know if Coach Erwin backpedaled on any promises or not — I'm just saying I doubt the suit has any legs (and no, that's not a stupid soccer pun).

[EastStang]

Sounds like something the NCAA might look at. If so, Erwin is gone.

[redpony]

Yeah, but the way it's presented offers more fodder for the anti-coach faction.

I believe that most of us are not 'anti-coach' but anti-losing and anti-program destruction. I frankly don't care who the coach is if he is winning and bring this team to national prominence. BE has shown that he can't do the job here and needs to leave.

If it is true that the plaintiff has emails from him asking her to recruit other players for him then that is an entirely different issue and should be addressed by the NCAA as it is a clear violation of rules. Assuming those emails exist then Orsini should dismiss him before the NCAA gets involved.

GO PONIES!!!

[August]

I don't know what was promised and what wasn't, just like everyone else here. But at some point, I assume this will be dismissed, as scholarships are renewable one-year agreements, and even if there was some sort of handshake agreement on future financial, aid, it wasn't written in a binding (yet) contract. I don't know if Coach Erwin backpedaled on any promises or not — I'm just saying I doubt the suit has any legs (and no, that's not a stupid soccer pun).

Of course you're correct in saying that a verbal is not 'binding'. But here's a quote from another forum that sums it up pretty well:

College coaches live and die by their reputations. If they renege on a verbal, then their ability to get future players will disappear. (Their fellow coaches would be telling every player they meet not to trust Coach X because he doesn't honor his commitments.) So, college coaches honor their verbal commitment unless something big changes./end snip

This instance is particularly bad, IMO. The player forfeited her final semester at high school - a very fun time - in exchange for an extra spring season and a $20K+ tuition bill. Does that make sense to anyone? Making it even worse is that she is from a local club, from which we need to draw good talent in the future. Don't think this has gone unnoticed.

No matter what happens, this is just another black eye for the soccer program.

[Vitale]

I expect if this effort had any merit, Erwin would be gone already, because Steve-O clearly doesn't want to spend the time or resources on soccer. My guess is that the case will be laughed out of court, if it ever gets that far.

[EastStang]

I'm a bit more concerned about possible NCAA infractions that might be underlying this and again reputation in the local recruiting pool. I could care less about lawsuits against Erwin and the University, because we have the resources to grind anyone down. Can you say, Tide and Burgers? This has the smell of a nice exit strategy for Orsini. "Oh, Steve, you violated an obscure NCAA rule, so you can quit or we'll have to fire you."

[Oldkeeper]

Unfortunately I think Orsini won't go anywhere but it will be interesting to see if Erwin finally screwed the pooch with this one.

[redpony]

Steve-O clearly doesn't want to spend the time or resources on soccer.

His attitude toward non-rev sports is exactly why both soccer programs have been trashed and are now at the bottom of the conference.

GO PONIES!!!

[August]

More on this from Big Soccer:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthre ... 52&page=74

[Otto]

I can't imagine sending my child to college without fully reading and understanding the terms of any financial aid agreements. If anything was unclear, I would have been in the coach's office repeatedly until I was comfortable with the financial terms — the WRITTEN financial terms — of any agreement. That this parent assumed his daughter would handle everything is really sad.

[August]

I can't imagine sending my child to college without fully reading and understanding the terms of any financial aid agreements. If anything was unclear, I would have been in the coach's office repeatedly until I was comfortable with the financial terms — the WRITTEN financial terms — of any agreement. That this parent assumed his daughter would handle everything is really sad.

What you don't understand here is that there is no written agreement until the NLI. Since she enrolled before the signing day, she would have had to rely on Brent's word alone. All over the country, players and their parents make verbal agreements with coaches and it's considered very bad form for either side to renege, barring some unforeseen issue like a coaching change or poor grades.