Mason Halter Situation – Fordham

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Football Mason Halter Situation – Fordham

This topic contains 13 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by sundayamqb sundayamqb 9 years, 6 months ago.

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  • #20917

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    In case you weren’t aware, Fordham OL Mason Halter transferred to Florida, where he’s now slated to be the starter.

    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-gators/swamp-things-blog/os-gators-transfer-mason-halter-oline-20150610-post.html

    The interesting part of his story is that he claims that Patriot League transfer guidelines were the reason why he didn’t stay at Fordham.

    While happy for his chance with the Gators, Halter said he actually would have remained at Fordham for his final season. But the Patriot League’s narrow guidelines did not allow him to receive a fifth year of eligibility, despite sitting out his freshman season with mononucleosis.

    The rules forced Halter to find a new home. The fact he graduated – in economics and business administration – allowed Halter to pursue a master’s degree and play immediately somewhere else.

    “If I could have played again I definitely would have stayed,” Halter said of Fordham. “I was comfortable with the coaches. I loved it up there in New York.”

    The only problem is that there’s nothing really in the actual PL rules which seems to deny him.

    http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/patr/genrel/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/201314PLPolicyProcedureManual.pdf

    >A. Standard Waivers
    Such waiver requests will be approved in writing by the institution’s President/Superintendent, reviewed by the Executive Director and reported to the Policy Committee during their November or May meeting in order to monitor compliance with the spirit of the rule. [Council, June 2002]

    i. Years of Eligibility due to an NCAA Hardship Waiver An extension of undergraduate Patriot League eligibility may be granted by a League institution at its discretion to a student who misses a season ofcompetition as a result of a serious injury and/or illness and receives anNCAA Hardship Waiver. [Council, June 2002] (Please note that an institution must file a corresponding NCAA Hardship Waiver for review by the Executive Director to insure all NCAA requirements are met. The NCAA Hardship Waiver will be included in Patriot League waiver report to Policy Committee.)

    To me, it seems like either Fordham screwed up, the NCAA denied his hardship waiver, or Mason simply wanted to test the waters a la Vernon Adams. But what is abundantly clear is that there’s no “Mason Halter” rule in the Patriot League rules which specifically denies him the ability to continue at Fordham. It clearly states that it’s up to Fordham’s discretion and up to Fordham to file an NCAA hardship waiver.

    Thoughts?

    • This topic was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by  lfnadmin.
    • This topic was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by  lfnadmin.
    #20920
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    There are numerous cases of players getting a 5th yearin PL due to issues other than football injuries,ie illnesd,non football injury,family circumstance.
    This story appears to be a “cover your ass” move by Fordham. There must be unreported facts necessary to explain this siuation.

    #20921
    van
    van
    Participant

    maybe he couldn’t get accepted into Fordham’s MBA, or maybe they didn’t want to spend a schollie on him

    #20922
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Pretty sure he can only get a 5th yr as an undergrad. PL has a very restrictive rule on grad students eligibility. Not all schools have grad schools.

    #20924

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    [quote=20922]Pretty sure he can only get a 5th yr as an undergrad. PL has a very restrictive rule on grad students eligibility. Not all schools have grad schools.
    [/quote]

    I’m pretty sure you can graduate from four-year PL college and started taking grad school courses in the same school and still play out your last year of eligiblity. I thought that’s how some Lehigh players have been able to play their final years of eligibility (through medical hardship).

    Incidentally the exact same thing is allowed in the Ivy League.

    #20925
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Is the restriction then only on grad transfers into PL?

    #20936
    sundayamqb
    sundayamqb
    Participant

    I think LU has had graduate students play.

    Could be an admissions or scholarship thing.

    #20943
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Reread the rule. Yes,if eligible for a waiver,he can use hus 5th year as a grad student.

    #20949
    Bison137
    Bison137
    Participant

    Over the years, many grad students have played in various sports in the PL. Football, basketball, etc.

    #20952
    Bison137
    Bison137
    Participant

    note that this is only Halter’s 4th year of football, so he did not need any kind of waiver to play at Florida. To play in the PL, however, he would have needed a hardship waiver since a 5th year is not automatic, as it is under NCAA rules. Possibly Fordham didn’t put it in or possibly his mono wasn’t serious enough to prevent him from playing for 100% of the 2012 season.

    Note also that the decision that a player qualifies for another year as a medical hardship case normally is made by the league, per the NCAA bylaws.

    #20954
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Thanks JB. Best source always for real info.

    #20955

    FatHawk
    Participant

    Good for Mason!

    Biggest point here is that a PL starter can start for any other team at any level, including a recent MNC winner in the mighty SEC.

    #20957

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    FatHawk I actually 100% agree. I don’t have an issue at all that Mason Halter actually transferred. I do have a problem with how it did it, i.e. throwing the PL under the bus and not telling the truth about it.

    #20966
    sundayamqb
    sundayamqb
    Participant

    Ditto, lfnadmin, FatHawk

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