Former UCLA linebacker Huma recruits Schwarzennegger for his causeGo here for the remainder.
Tom Hoffarth, Columnist
Los Angeles Daily News
8/29/2010
Ramogi Huma can't wait much longer to get Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph. He's hopeful it's not the last thing the California governor does before leaving office, even though it could be the first major move in making sure college recruits and their families have less to be confused about.
A former UCLA linebacker and executive director of the National College Players Association, Huma has gotten to intimately know the Student-Athletes Right to Know Bill (AB 2079), which in the past three months has been passed in both the state assembly and senate.
It's demands are things you'd think would already be mandatory - universities will have to provide recruits a written summary of their policies on everything from medical insurance limits to athlete transfer rates and scholarship renewals, all within a week of contact...
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More on the NCPA, Ramogi Huma and AB 2079
Tom Hoffarth
Los Angeles Daily News
August 29, 2010
Ramogi Huma, NCPA President with more -- what else he has to say on the state of college athletics:
== On the pending passage of AB 2079, the Student-Athlete Right to Know bill:
"Many people are shocked to hear the type of misinformation student-athletes get during the recruiting process, and the public really isn't informed, either. There is a lot of deception and omitted information and a lack of equality nationwide as athletes struggle to get by. It wasn't until after I was injured as a player did I realize the NCAA capped scholarships. The totals are even below the price tag of the school's academic scholarships. I don't think that's an accident. They know what they're doing. The players aren't met to get by. But they sell it as a full scholarship. It's very tough to navigate through this system.
"(Our organization) has a lot of goals, but this one is to create a very powerful transparency and honesty in recruiting. It's obvious when you talk about this issue, no one really knows all that's involved. Maybe they know one or two pieces, or some of the pitfalls, but not all of them. I've talked to lawmaker after lawmaker and finally go the support in California, and I hope it continues forward..."
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Thank you, Tom, for covering the AB 2079 Bill and the efforts of Ramogi Huma. As a Dad whose daughter, a basketball player, decided late in her senior year to continue playing basketball in college, I know firsthand the tremendous amount of research, phone calling and personal contacts that go in to finding a scholarship, especially if you are not the elite athlete. We wanted to ensure that our daughter matched her academic interests with her interest in playing at the college level because we know that education is the ultimate goal and we had enough friends in college athletics who gave us the real information about the fickleness of some university athletic programs. While the NCAA gives you the basics in their Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete, each university has its own policies, and parents don't always have the full picture. There is also a lot of misinformation provided about scholarships, the ability of universities to pull scholarships and when and where they can do this. A friend of my daughter's had a scholarship to play at a Southern California university; the university had a complete change of athletic personnel including the coach. New coach comes in and this student athlete is told he will no longer be playing. New coach wants a fresh start with a whole new team! While the coaches we contacted were forthright, honest and didn't pull punches, we know of a number of athlete who got the short end of the stick, because the universities were not transparent about their policies. I applaud your coverage of this issue and the courage of Ramogi in pushing AB2079 forward.
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