Did Iowa Bumble Another Waiver Petition w/ Oliver?

IowaLawWasRight

Well-Known Member
We all remember what a travesty the Drew Ott situation was. The guy burned a red shirt playing a hand full of snaps his freshmen year, then plays a few games (injured) his senior year. He applied for an extra year of eligibility, then was forced to sweat it out all the way until the NFL draft before finding out whether or not he would gain an extra season of eligibility. All the while, guys with lesser hardships were being granted waivers right and left.

On June 11th, we get huge news that Oliver Martin, a stud recruit at Iowa's perpetual position of weakness, is transferring to Iowa. He said he would seek a waiver for immediate eligibility. Many speculated that he could likely come in and see significant minutes right away. He also has a compelling case for a waiver...Mich lost both its WR coach and OC in 2018 and brought in new coaches and a new offense.

After two months of wondering whether Oliver would get eligibility, and watching player after player have their waivers granted, Martin sits in limbo with just 11 days until the season starts. Still no decision has been made by the NCAA? Is it the NCAA's fault? NOPE. Not this time. They are the easy scapegoat, but this one is not on them.

It turns out, the U of I sat on Oliver's waiver request until...early August! For 2 months, kids across the country were having their waivers awarded while Iowa's administrators (the same ones that "reassigned" then "fired" a lesbian coach with a successful record and lost a lawsuit over it) took the summer off.

We have self-imposed uncertainty at one of the most important positions on the field. If Martin does get the waiver, and I believe he ultimately will, what does that do to someone like Smith-Marsette, who has topped the depth all spring and fall, to suddenly lose the role days before kickoff? If Martin doesn't get the waiver, what does it do to the kid who's been practicing as if he's going to be on the field in 12 days only to have that ripped from him at the last second?

Either way, it's a boneheaded move by Iowa's incompetent compliance office from both a morale and personnel perspective.
 
Last I heard he "lawyered up" thinking it would help with the case. Lawyers work by the hour ... hence the extra time involved??? I think that is more likely than the U of I slowing the process down. I read somewhere the NCAA is supposed to determine yea or nay within 21 days of submittal so hopefully we hear soon. He has a good chance to receive the waiver with a new offensive scheme at Michigan, new OC and the fact he is moving back home.
 
Last edited:
"Lawyering up" usually a means hiring representation to avoid direct questioning or shield yourself. I don't think it really applies here.

As IowaLaw points out, his transfer has been in the works for over two months. Somebody dropped the ball if they just got the paperwork in a couple of weeks ago.
 
"Lawyering up" usually a means hiring representation to avoid direct questioning or shield yourself. I don't think it really applies here.

As IowaLaw points out, his transfer has been in the works for over two months. Somebody dropped the ball if they just got the paperwork in a couple of weeks ago.

How do you know this? Maybe this is what the attorney felt was necessary to make sure he had the strongest case possible. Basically you are clueless to the process, but you wanna say someone messed up.
 
"Lawyering up" usually a means hiring representation to avoid direct questioning or shield yourself. I don't think it really applies here.

As IowaLaw points out, his transfer has been in the works for over two months. Somebody dropped the ball if they just got the paperwork in a couple of weeks ago.

And that "somebody" might be the lawyer slowing down the process. Like I said in my original reply lawyers work by the hour. So IowaLawMayBeWrong.
 
How do you know this? Maybe this is what the attorney felt was necessary to make sure he had the strongest case possible. Basically you are clueless to the process, but you wanna say someone messed up.
Unless they injected a family member with HIV and had to wait out the gestation period to get a positive test result, I can't fathom how in the hell it could possibly take more than 20 hours of work over the course a couple of weeks to "compile evidence" and fill out forms in a case like this.
 
How do you know this? Maybe this is what the attorney felt was necessary to make sure he had the strongest case possible. Basically you are clueless to the process, but you wanna say someone messed up.

What I know is that we were told the paperwork was just submitted a couple of weeks ago...despite Martin making his intentions known 2 months ago. (and he likely knew what he was going to do even earlier). I'm not privy to all the details of the process, but it's tough to imagine it taking 6+ weeks to put together a submission on something this simple...especially when you know you're on a timeline.
 
Unless they injected a family member with HIV and had to wait out the gestation period to get a positive test result, I can't fathom how in the hell it could possibly take more than 20 hours of work over the course a couple of weeks to "compile evidence" and fill out forms in a case like this.

I agree that it shouldn't take that long. But it's hard to see why the university would possibly wait that long just for the hell of it.
 
I'm still trying to figure out how a "lawyer" is of any use when dealing with the NCAA. Isn't the NCAA a private entity? There are no actual laws being broken no matter what happens. The NCAA's rules/regulations are the only statutes being enforced.

I see it as the equivalent of getting a lawyer to help me convince my boss to give me a raise.
 
25k6l8.jpg
 
I'm still trying to figure out how a "lawyer" is of any use when dealing with the NCAA. Isn't the NCAA a private entity? There are no actual laws being broken no matter what happens. The NCAA's rules/regulations are the only statutes being enforced.

I see it as the equivalent of getting a lawyer to help me convince my boss to give me a raise.

The NCAA hates to get sued. If there is a lawyer involved, presumably they will follow their own rules and precedent rather than the simple flowchart, which is:

{if destination = blueblood then transfer = yes}
{if destination =/= blueblood then transfer = no}
 
What I know is that we were told the paperwork was just submitted a couple of weeks ago...despite Martin making his intentions known 2 months ago. (and he likely knew what he was going to do even earlier). I'm not privy to all the details of the process, but it's tough to imagine it taking 6+ weeks to put together a submission on something this simple...especially when you know you're on a timeline.

Who says it wasn't filed earlier and then amended later and sent in again. Maybe there was an error, omission, or something else wrong with the paperwork that required an additional/re filing. There are some rumors going around that this is the case.
 
We all remember what a travesty the Drew Ott situation was. The guy burned a red shirt playing a hand full of snaps his freshmen year, then plays a few games (injured) his senior year. He applied for an extra year of eligibility, then was forced to sweat it out all the way until the NFL draft before finding out whether or not he would gain an extra season of eligibility. All the while, guys with lesser hardships were being granted waivers right and left.

On June 11th, we get huge news that Oliver Martin, a stud recruit at Iowa's perpetual position of weakness, is transferring to Iowa. He said he would seek a waiver for immediate eligibility. Many speculated that he could likely come in and see significant minutes right away. He also has a compelling case for a waiver...Mich lost both its WR coach and OC in 2018 and brought in new coaches and a new offense.

After two months of wondering whether Oliver would get eligibility, and watching player after player have their waivers granted, Martin sits in limbo with just 11 days until the season starts. Still no decision has been made by the NCAA? Is it the NCAA's fault? NOPE. Not this time. They are the easy scapegoat, but this one is not on them.

It turns out, the U of I sat on Oliver's waiver request until...early August! For 2 months, kids across the country were having their waivers awarded while Iowa's administrators (the same ones that "reassigned" then "fired" a lesbian coach with a successful record and lost a lawsuit over it) took the summer off.

We have self-imposed uncertainty at one of the most important positions on the field. If Martin does get the waiver, and I believe he ultimately will, what does that do to someone like Smith-Marsette, who has topped the depth all spring and fall, to suddenly lose the role days before kickoff? If Martin doesn't get the waiver, what does it do to the kid who's been practicing as if he's going to be on the field in 12 days only to have that ripped from him at the last second?

Either way, it's a boneheaded move by Iowa's incompetent compliance office from both a morale and personnel perspective.
So help me understand, you are surprised by this?
 
Whether Martin plays or not will most likely go a long way in deciding if Iowa will have a banner year or the more traditional Kirk sputter year of what might have beens. Whether it is the AD or Kirk's office or both, if I were in their shoes I would "have my best man on this 24/7" until it is resolved in a favorable way. Funny how the sputtering is multi level at times. It can't be that complicated.
 
Now...I'm no lawyer, nor do I have "law" in my screen name like some of you, and that is quite intimidatin' and impressive and all, so there's that. Now, I'm a reckonin' that ole Oliver and his attorney were hankerin' for some more information along the likes of more waivers granted by that there NCAA group. So, follow me here cause I'm goin' down the road a piece, but it figures if that there NCAA group grants a bunch of waivers similar to the one our boy Ollie is a submittin', then that should put a shine on his waiver. It's somethin' called a precedent...some high flutin' lawyer talk for "if you gave it to them, you got to give it to me".

So we can sit back on a stump and complain about this and that and who didn't do what, but at the end of the day, someone always knows more than what you do about any situation you are supposin' on...that's guaranteed if you are married anyway...just ask her.

Let's wait...then we will have plenty of time to be complainin' if we have to put Ollie out to pasture for a year.
 
Last edited:
Now...I'm no lawyer, nor do I have "law" in my screen name like some of you, and that is quite intimidatin' and impressive and all, so there's that. Now, I'm a reckonin' that ole Oliver and his attorney were hankerin' for some more information along the likes of more waivers granted by that there NCAA group. So, follow me here cause I'm goin' down the road a piece, but it figures if that there NCAA group grants a bunch of waivers similar to the one our boy Ollie is a submittin', then that should put a shine on his waiver. It's somethin' called a precedent...some high flutin' lawyer talk for "if you gave it to them, you got to give it to me".

So we can sit back on a stump and complain about this and that and who didn't do what, but at the end of the day, someone always knows more than what you do about any situation you are supposin' on...that's guaranteed if you are married anyway...just ask her.

Let's wait...then we will have plenty of time to be complainin' if we have to put Ollie out to pasture for a year.
You could be right. There have been a bunch of cases decided already that should be similar enough to set some precedence. Here is one that is quite similar that might have been because of the OC change at Ohio State.

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcspor...d-immediate-eligibility-waiver-at-cincinnati/
 

Latest posts

Top