In a story that no one imagined would be as national-centric as it has came to a friendly conclusion this afternoon.
Former Wisconsin Badgers basketball player, Jarrod Uthoff is now free to contact any school outside of the Big Ten Conference, including Iowa State, Marquette and the ACC conference which were previously placed on a restriction list.
Head Coach Bo Ryan, Associated Athletic Director Justin Doherty and Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez took part in an appeal process which is summarized below:
Here is exactly how the University of Wisconsin summarized the transfer and appeal process for Jarrod Uthoff:
It is incorrect that Uthoff requested “permission to contact” 25 schools. He has requested “permission to contact” 16 schools, 4 of which were denied.
Uthoff appealed 3 of the 4 schools that were denied.
Uthoff visited with both Associate Athletic Director Justin Doherty and Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez Thursday morning as part of the appeal process.
Doherty, Alvarez and head coach Bo Ryan then met and collectively came to a decision that the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department has lifted “permission to contact” restrictions on ANY school outside of the Big Ten Conference.
Ryan is supportive of denials of Big Ten institutions only and has wanted the appeals process to serve as a means for dialogue to occur between Uthoff and UW Athletics administration.
Uthoff has been notified of these decisions.
If Uthoff wishes to further appeal the “permission to contact” denial to any Big Ten university, he may request a hearing to the Chair of the Athletic Board within 8 business days.
It’s crazy to think how out of hand this story really became on a national scale. Ryan was trending all morning after his semi-controversial interview with Mike & Mike on ESPN this morning (watch here at Rant Sports). Bo admitted to not knowing a lot about transfers and his frustration with the social uproar.
During the entire process, my main problem was with the restrictions of Iowa State and the entire ACC conference. It makes absolutely no sense to restrict a kid from attending a school which you will most likely not play (e.g. Iowa State) or an entirely different conference. Yes, the Badgers will play a couple of ACC schools over the next couple of years, but not all of them.
At the same time, it was even more frustrating to see national talking heads take their attack on Bo Ryan for a process that is very common across the league. They should have been focusing on the reason behind the specific schools instead of the restrictions in general.
Nonetheless, the Badgers ultimately made the right call by letting Uthoff choose where he wants to attend outside of the Big Ten. If he truly wants to be closer to home, Iowa State would be a great fit for his ability and talent.
What was your stance on the transfer issue encountered by the Wisconsin Badgers and Jarrod Uthoff? Did the Badgers make the right move or did they let Uthoff off too easy? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.
Pictures:
Jarrod Uthoff (https://espnmadison.com/)
Bo Ryan (https://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2012/4/19/2959988/jarrod-uthoff-transfer-wisconsin-bo-ryan)