Hokies challenging Red Shirt vs Opt Out definitions in this new Revenue Share era

This VT adjustment of budget, will the money involved move the campus closer to DC or Tidewater area?
 
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Playing devil's advocate (for the record I think VT is barking up the wrong tree for this position) but if you are hurt and redshirt, fine that is to preserve eligibility, if you are simply not playing but out there practicing and working hard every day but maybe you are a late bloomer or you have an AA in front of you, fine that is to preserve eligibility, but you voluntarily opt out? Or refuse to go in when the coach tells you? I guess I see that as different.

Taking it out of CFB arena, if I take medical leave, or a woman takes materinty leave, she still gets paid, if I am sick, I still get paid, if I put in my two weeks notice and simply stop showing up for those next two weeks, I likely dont get paid. I mean revenue sharing is for bringing eyeballs to the table for playing for VT (or some team) correct? Now NIL may be a different story but someone refusing to play for the school is entitled to a share of the schools proceeds?

This; appreciate u providing context. What I’ve learned via the transfer portal, red-shirt, NIL is that its original intents r being gravely exploited. We want coaches held accountable, ADs & institutions, The NCAA all to be held accountable, but somehow not the students who r getting athletic scholarships? They’ve been given an inch & they r tryin to run a whole 26.2 mi marathon w it. Not all, but a good amount.
 
This VT adjustment of budget, will the money involved move the campus closer to DC or Tidewater area?
It's almost like some parts of Virginia, particularly the Western portions around Blacksburg, are so very different from the main population centers on the coast, that they could make a separate state - you could call it East Kentucky or North Tennessee, maybe even West Virginia.
 
Redshirting is a standard practice to preserve eligibility, not voluntary withdrawal from a program, and schools cannot void revenue-sharing payments on pay-for-play grounds. I have been retained by a Hokies player to aggressively challenge this and am happy to assist any others facing similar issues.
Thats all fine and good legal talk, but we all know that they are opting out and would not have done this before the firing and bad team start. Players should be expected to finish out the season regardless of the record or head coach status and in return for that the school would be expected to honor any NIL/revenue sharing agreement and scholarship fulfillment. The redshirt process should be a decision where both the staff and player should be involved when deciding.
Teaching our next generation that they are justified in quitting and not honoring their commitment as soon as something doesn't go their way and yet still expecting to get compensated anyway is a horrible trend that we should look to avoid.
We all got on this board and mocked and laughed at FSU a few years ago and criticized their team culture, but the more we justify this behavior and defend it then the more we will see it. But it's all about the individual and the current moment and never looking long term to the overall health of the sport. If you want to see the future of this, just look at the NBA and what they have done to their product at the call for "player empowerment".
 
Thats all fine and good legal talk, but we all know that they are opting out and would not have done this before the firing and bad team start. Players should be expected to finish out the season regardless of the record or head coach status and in return for that the school would be expected to honor any NIL/revenue sharing agreement and scholarship fulfillment. The redshirt process should be a decision where both the staff and player should be involved when deciding.
Teaching our next generation that they are justified in quitting and not honoring their commitment as soon as something doesn't go their way and yet still expecting to get compensated anyway is a horrible trend that we should look to avoid.
We all got on this board and mocked and laughed at FSU a few years ago and criticized their team culture, but the more we justify this behavior and defend it then the more we will see it. But it's all about the individual and the current moment and never looking long term to the overall health of the sport. If you want to see the future of this, just look at the NBA and what they have done to their product at the call for "player empowerment".
No one should ever fire a coach within 4 games ever again
 
It's almost like some parts of Virginia, particularly the Western portions around Blacksburg, are so very different from the main population centers on the coast, that they could make a separate state - you could call it East Kentucky or North Tennessee, maybe even West Virginia.
I've got a lot of family in VA these days (who are mostly from FL or NC, but live in VA now).

There are different galaxies within the state of Virginia.
 
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• A Virginia Tech player expressed an interest in redshirting for the rest of the 2025 season to preserve a year of eligibility. He wanted to remain a member of the Hokies football team, staying fully engaged in practices, meetings and other activities. The player has not entered the transfer portal and would prefer to stay at Virginia Tech.• In response, Heitner said Virginia Tech issued a letter calling the player’s decision an “opt-out” of participation and removed him from the roster, restricted his access to athletic resources (he was removed from the Teamworks app with team information, schedules, etc.) and sought to terminate his revenue-sharing agreement immediately and his scholarship aid at the end of the semester.• Heitner says he and his client have formally challenged Virginia Tech’s interpretation of the situation in a letter to the school demanding immediate reinstatement and a full payment of all owed funds. Their emphasis is that “redshirting is a standard NCAA practice that does not constitute voluntary withdrawal or non-participation.”
 
• A Virginia Tech player expressed an interest in redshirting for the rest of the 2025 season to preserve a year of eligibility. He wanted to remain a member of the Hokies football team, staying fully engaged in practices, meetings and other activities. The player has not entered the transfer portal and would prefer to stay at Virginia Tech.• In response, Heitner said Virginia Tech issued a letter calling the player’s decision an “opt-out” of participation and removed him from the roster, restricted his access to athletic resources (he was removed from the Teamworks app with team information, schedules, etc.) and sought to terminate his revenue-sharing agreement immediately and his scholarship aid at the end of the semester.• Heitner says he and his client have formally challenged Virginia Tech’s interpretation of the situation in a letter to the school demanding immediate reinstatement and a full payment of all owed funds. Their emphasis is that “redshirting is a standard NCAA practice that does not constitute voluntary withdrawal or non-participation.”

Seems like VT was just plain dumb in this situation. Easy to say to the kid he has to play if the team needs him. Keep him on the team until game day, put him in and if he refuses then kick him off for cause.
 
Seems like VT was just plain dumb in this situation. Easy to say to the kid he has to play if the team needs him. Keep him on the team until game day, put him in and if he refuses then kick him off for cause.
They 100% jumped the gun, and escalated the situation. There were better ways to handle this. But you can’t sit out gameday and get rev share, can’t have ur cake and eat it too
 
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if you voluntarily redshirt and it’s not injury related, the school should have the right to terminate any rev share agreements, but not the scholarship itself.
yes, the institution should hold all the power. The players should count their lucky stars they even have the opportunity.

Anybody that dissents should be tarred and feathered
 
It's a slippery slope and will be very interesting to see how schools and courts handle this.

Also playing devil's advocate - If you are being paid to play and choose not to play, it's a choice, not a forced withdrawal by the school. It's no different if an NFL player is being paid a contract and chooses to sit. That team can recoup the money in fines. It's also no different than an academic scholarship being revoked bc you aren't meeting expectations for the scholarship.

The revenue sharing is not NIL. That is 2 different topics. NIL is payment regardless of play. College football is an unregulated Wild West and eventually teams losing in that arms race will try something different. They have no choice. Status quo will not benefit them. Even if they take a short-term hit, they might think setting an example for others to follow might change the landscape moving forward.
 
Money owed for voluntary choosing not to play - as in quitting?
Yes, you’re right. The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and all other sport should immediately cease paying any player that doesn’t play.

Only players that play get a check. Everyone else go **** themselves. Players have held too much power for too long. Time for institutions and teams to take back control from money hungry players.

Also, NIL was founded on pay for play. NCAA explicitly said that’s the only way it can go.
 
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