If nothing else, the NCAA’s inconsistency is ridiculously and maddeningly consistent.
The dawning of a new morning yesterday brought word that Coastal Carolina transfer Brock Hoffman‘s appeal for immediate eligibility at Virginia Tech was denied because, one, Blacksburg is five miles outside of the NCAA-mandate 100-mile radius from the lineman’s home and, two, his mom’s health is improving two years removed from brain surgery that left her with myriad ongoing issues. Fast-forward a few hours the same day and Luke Ford, a transfer from Georgia, took to Twitter to announce that his appeal for immediate eligibility at Illinois has been shot down by the NCAA as well.
The main reason for Ford, a native of Carterville, Ill., transferring to the Fighting Illini was so that the tight end could be closer to his ailing grandfather; a portion of the NCAA’s denial indicated that a grandparent is not part of the nuclear family as mandated by The Association’s bylaws. Additionally, Ford’s home is nearly twice the distance allowed by the same governing body’s rules.
My Waiver got denied... Thanks for all your support😔 It’s all in the Lord’s timing🙏🏽
— Luke Ford (@lukeford82) April 24, 2019
Ford will informally appeal the NCAA’s initial denial of a waiver before, if necessary, moving on to what would be a formal and final appeal.
“We’re all disappointed Luke Ford’s waiver request for immediate eligibility was denied,” a statement from the university began. “There is an appeal process that we intend to help Luke explore.”
The NCAA should be applauded for becoming much less restrictive when it comes to transfers and granting waivers of late to players whose sole motivation for a move was a better shot at immediate playing time (hello, Tate Martell and Justin Fields, for example); they can, though, do much, much, much better, especially as it pertains to cases such as Ford and Hoffman that involve nothing more than simple human decency.