NCAA Division I board ‘troubled’ by UNC officials’ remarks in Tez Walker eligibility case
The NCAA issued a statement Tuesday saying “violent -- and possibly criminal -- threats” have been directed toward committee members and that recent remarks made by UNC officials about the ruling involving the eligibility of wide receiver Tez Walker were “troubling.”
The NCAA has ruled Walker, a two-time transfer, would not receive a waiver for the 2023 season and would not be eligible. The decision, ultimately made and reaffirmed last week by the seven-member Committee for Legislative Relief, resulted in scathing remarks being made about the NCAA by UNC football coach Mack Brown.
The NCAA statement said: “Those comments directly contradict what we and our fellow Division I members and coaches called for vociferously — including UNC’s own football coach. We are a membership organization, and rather than pursue a public relations campaign that can contribute to a charged environment for our peers who volunteer on committees, we encourage members to use established and agreed upon procedures to voice concerns and propose and adopt rule or policy changes if they are dissatisfied.”
Walker transferred to UNC from Kent State and enrolled on Jan. 9, believing he qualified for a waiver and would be eligible this season. While he was on the N.C. Central football team in 2020, the Eagles canceled their 2020 season because of the COVID pandemic and Walker then transferred to Kent State in 2021, playing two seasons.
The NCAA’s Division I Council voted Jan. 11 to enforce stricter guidelines for undergraduate athletes who were two-time transfers. Walker was ruled ineligible and UNC’s appeals have failed.
Brown and others at UNC, including chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and athletic director Bubba Cunningham, have criticized the NCAA ruling. Some, including Brown, have questioned the NCAA’s commitment to mental health initiatives to help its athletes, noting Walker’s anxiety over his eligibility and the disappointment of not being able to allow an ailing grandmother in Charlotte to see him play college football for the first time this season.
“It is clear that the NCAA is about process and it couldn’t care less about the young people it’s supposed to be supporting,” Brown said in his statement last week after the Walker ruling. “Plain and simple, the NCAA has failed Tez and his family and I’ve lost all faith in its ability to lead and govern our sport.”
Brown’s statement ended: “Shame on you, NCAA. SHAME ON YOU!”
An emergency meeting of the UNC trustees was held Monday to discuss options concerning the Walker situation. Brown and Cunningham were at the meeting and Guskiewicz said later that outside counsel was brought in for legal advice.
The NCAA statement said the Division I Board of Directors believed NCAA staff and the committee are “applying transfer waiver guidelines as intended by member schools and giving proper and full consideration to individual cases, including consulting a panel of licensed mental health experts for cases in which mental health is cited as a reason for transfer.”
It noted the new guidelines were supported unanimously by all 32 Division I conferences in January, and have been supported by coaches associations.
The NCAA statement was signed by Jere Morehead, president of the University of Georgia and chair of the NCAA Division I Board; and Christopher Pietruszkiewicz, president of the University of Evansville, the vice chair.
This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 2:49 PM with the headline "NCAA Division I board ‘troubled’ by UNC officials’ remarks in Tez Walker eligibility case."
