INDIANAPOLIS --- Two separate NCAA committees -- the NCAA Student Records Review Committee and the NCAA Initial Eligibility Waiver Learning Disability Subcommittee, comprised of representatives from NCAA member schools and high school educators from across the country -- today upheld the NCAA staff decisions regarding Jerrell Powe. As a result of these appeals decisions, Mr. Powe will be allowed to receive athletically related financial aid to attend classes at the University of Mississippi. However, he will be ineligible for practice and football competition until meeting NCAA and institutional academic requirements in college. The earliest Mr. Powe could participate is fall 2008.

Based on his academic history and even after receiving all the accommodations and protections available to individuals with disabilities, Mr. Powe has not demonstrated that he can succeed academically during his first year of collegiate enrollment while also practicing and competing in athletics. NCAA staff and the appellate bodies expressed concern that Mr. Powe had completed a significant amount of coursework in an unusually limited amount of time – much shorter than the average time it takes students to complete similar courses. In order to grant the waiver and appeal, the staff and membership committees were asked to accept that an individual who previously completed just 7 core courses out of a required 14 in his first five years of high school had subsequently completed 14.5 core courses at three different schools concurrently over a four-month period. The average number of courses a student completes in a year is four.

For these reasons, the NCAA decided it is in the best interest of Mr. Powe to focus on his education and give him the opportunity to improve his academic standing during his first year of college. It is the belief of the NCAA that success in the classroom, not on the playing field, is the most important focus for all student-athletes, including Mr. Powe. This is consistent with decisions regarding other student-athletes that withhold them from practice and participation to provide time for them to improve their academic standing during the first year of college.

While there are many parties involved with this matter that profess to have Mr. Powe’s best interest at heart, the decision to allow Mr. Powe to receive full financial aid will give him the opportunity to focus on the most important challenge for any student-athlete – getting an education.

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