morrison to UW?

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Brian Morrison Withdraws From UCLA....
A Likely Issue Of Economics?--(Sept. 26, 2002)

uclalogo3.gif (3037 bytes) The Los Angeles Times this morning reported that yet one more player who had been anticipated to be on the team at UCLA this season (but not expected to play until 2003-04 because of NCAA transfer restrictions), Brian Morrison, a 6'-2" shooting guard from Redmond, Washington, who left North Carolina this past spring, will not be attending UCLA after all. Here's what the Times noted in pertinent part:

UCLA Loses Morrison
By Steve Henson

Guard Brian Morrison, a basketball transfer from North Carolina, withdrew from UCLA Wednesday and is expected to enroll at Washington, sources said.

Morrison must sit out the 2002-03 season under NCAA transfer rules because he left North Carolina. He was expected to be a key addition to the Bruins in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Morrison, who grew up in Redmond, Wash., indicated to UCLA players that he plans to enroll at Washington, which begins fall classes Monday. A spokesman with the Huskies would not comment.

The loss of Morrison, who led North Carolina with 42 three-point baskets last season, is another in a series of blows to the Bruins.

The article continued on with more information about Evan Burns, about Andre Patterson sitting out the fall quarter and attending classes at Santa Monica CC, and about UCLA's recruiting focus now being on Trevor Ariza, Omar Wilkes and Sean Phaler because the Bruins are "suddenly flush with scholarships to give" (to quote the Times).

Following the Times' publication, those who take an interest (to a greater or lesser degree) in UCLA basketball were all over the two most popular message boards devoted to UCLA basketball, either blaming or defending the coaching staff, asserting that the "loss" of Morrison is or isn't a bad thing, and the other usual offerings when a newspaper publishes a story like this one. We really don't know on which side of the line this one falls, but it's likely that economics probably played a bigger role in Morrison's decision to go to school somwhere else than most suspect.

Why do we say economics? Here's why:

Morrison is not a resident of the State of California for UC residency tuition purposes. He would have been required to pay out-of-state, non-resident tutition and fees. A simple look at the schedule of mandatory fees and tuition costs, tells one that Morrison was going to pay $16,603.77 for fees and tutition (yikes!) and would also be required to pay approximately $9,000 (minimum) for room and board costs, or a total of about $26,000, not including additional money he might need for incidentals, books, supplies, clothing, etc.

Conservatively estimated, a year of sitting on the bench at UCLA would likely have cost the Morrison family more than $30,000.

Contrast that to the fees Morrison will pay at the University of Washington (if indeed that's where he winds up enrolling next week). UW is on the quarter system. Tuition and fees are charged based on the number of units taken. Assuming Morrison took a relatively normal courseload (between 10 and 18 units), he would only have to pay $ 1,291 per quarter, for each of the three quarters in an academic year, or $3,873 for a full year. Housing costs for a comparable room to what he would have had at UCLA? $2,563 per quarter, or about $1,000 less than at UCLA.

Total cost at UW (assuming no financial aid there either)? About $11,589, close to 1/3 less than UCLA.

At UCLA, Morrison was not going to be "on a full-ride" this season. He would be considered a walk-on, and most likely would also have fallen under the definition of a "recruited" walk on (depending upon the staff's previous recruitment of him), which would complicate things even further.

If he was recruited "walk-on", whether he received a non-athletic scholarship or any other form of financial assistance, he would have still been considered a "counter" for purposes of the maximum number of scholarships allowed under NCAA rules (13), and that would have put UCLA in a predicament. It would have meant either (a) Morrison could be on the team (but not play) and count as a scholarship even if he wasn't getting an athletic scholly, or (b) it would have meant that Morrison could attend UCLA as a student, sit out the year, not be on the team (and likewise not be able to practice with the team either) and yet still have to pay his own way.

The reasons why the NCAA treats a "recruited walk-on" as a "counter" toward the scholarship limits is simple: If anyone could become a "walk-on" by getting a non-athletic grant or financial assistance, any athletic department so inclined would easily be able to circumvent the 13-scholarship maximum, and the limits would become meaningless.

Stated differently, as long as a student-athlete was NOT "recruited" by the institution's athletic department as a prospective athlete, he is permitted to enroll, walk-on to a team, and receive a non-athletic scholarship or some form of financial aid/assistance which is NOT awarded based on athletic ability, and still not be considered a "counter."

For those who like to read the original sources, here are the NCAA Bylaws which provide that two types of "walk-ons" are permissible which will not be counted against the scholarship limit of 13 players in basketball:

"15.5.1.3.1 No Institutional Financial Aid. A student-athlete who was not recruited by the institution and who is not receiving any institutional financial aid (as set forth in Bylaw 15.02.4.1) is not a counter."

"15.5.1.3.2 Certification. A student-athlete who was not recruited by the awarding institution and who is receiving institutional financial aid (as set forth in Bylaw 15.02.4.1) shall not be a counter if there is on file in the office of the athletics director certification by the faculty athletics representative and the director of financial aid that the student’s financial aid was granted without regard in any degree to athletics ability. (Revised: 1/10/95)"

On the other hand, if a student is receiving any of the forms of financial assistance described in the NCAA bylaws in Article 15 which is NOT based on athletic ability, but WAS previously recruited by the school (meaning he received telephone calls, took an official visit, etc...and by the way, letters do NOT mean a student was "recruited"), then that student is not eligible for varsity competition. He can play JV or any sub-varsity level (a lot of schools still have JV teams, e.g. North Carolina, but not UCLA), but once he joins the varsity, he becomes a "counter" even if his financial aid isn't related to athletics.

Here's the rule:

"15.5.1.2.1 Football or Basketball, Varsity Competition. In football or basketball, a student-athlete who was recruited by the awarding institution and who receives institutional financial aid (as set forth in Bylaw 15.02.4.1) granted without regard in any degree to athletics ability does not have to be counted until the student-athlete engages in varsity intercollegiate competition (as opposed to freshman, B-team, subvarsity, intramural or club competition) in those sports. For this provision to be applicable, there shall be on file in the office of the athletics director certification by the faculty athletics representative, the admissions officer and the chair of the financial aid committee that the student’s admission and financial aid were granted without regard in any degree to athletics ability. (Revised: 1/16/93 effective 8/1/93, 1/11/94)"

Again, the reason for the difference in treatment of "recruited" and "non-recruited" walk-ons who happen to be receiving some form of financial aid is to avoid the obvious ways around the maximum number of 13 scholarships.

Anyway, we suspect that with Morrison's situation and UCLA's need to recruit players now, the economics of the situation probably played a far larger role than most suspect or will be able to speak about. At least that's our take on the situation. Good luck to Brian Morrison, wherever he winds up enrolling this year.