North Carolina Central’s women’s basketball squad had its best season in quite some time, but apparently, that wasn’t enough for most of the squad to return.
A total of nine players have been cut from the team by coach Trish Stafford-Odoms, many of them on scholarship and soon to graduate according to a report by ABC11.com.
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“Yes you’re there for basketball but you’re also there to graduate,” Sami Oliver-Alexander, a junior from California, said. “So to cut people that are about to graduate literally on the cusp of graduating is … why? At that point you’re messing with people’s futures.”
Power rests with coach
Division I scholarships can be offered for multiple years, or can be one-year agreements. Coaches have control of scholarship amounts and renewal, but players must be notified by July 1st to give players a chance to appeal.
Stafford-Odom inherited many of the players when she was hired last spring. The team went 9-21, its best record since 2013-14, but bowed out in the first round of the MEAC Tournament. The players’ scholarships were reportedly removed the day after that loss.
According to the report some players have decided to appeal the decision while others like Alyssa Thompson will simply look elsewhere.
“NCCU isn’t the only school with a good nursing program,” Thompson said, “so I’m definitely going to transfer, still get my school paid for – Coach didn’t ruin my future.”
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Trisha Stafford Odem & AG Hall have no business coaching ANY Division basketball! The way they treated the young women on the NCCU Women’s basketball team was horrible! They threatened the girls almost daily! They made the girls stay in hotels that they wouldn’t even stay in! They left the girls several times to fend for themselves (away games), they threatened the girls that they would be cut from the team if the reported anything to parents! These Coaches need to be exposed & class action suits ARE being pursued by the parents! My daughter Alyssa Thompson already committed to another University so she’ll be fine! But these other young ladies that are Juniors and well in to their majors are missing out! Losing credits (if they have to transfer), delayed graduating dates! She (Odem) was very calculating in this decision! WHO DOES THIS??? Legally she’s well within her rights! But morally & ethically she is wrong! She had a decent season! My daughter (Thompson) as a Freshman played in every game! Started in 10 games! All of the girls have 3.0 or better GPA’s & none of the girls had any disciplinary actions! But this is what you get from an HBCU that doesn’t care about the student athlete! This is all about money & winning! From the Chancellor (who has passed the buck to the Athletic Director & refuses to address the parents concerns, to the Athletic Director who knew about abuse but turned a blind eye because of her friendship with Odem to the Coaches who should have their jobs taken this school MISERABLY FAILED OUR GIRLS! Shame on you NCCU, MEAC & HBCU!
NORKFOLK STATE DID THE SAME THING TO MY DAUGHTER TOOK HER SCHOLARSHIP!! SHE HAD 24 CREDITS LEFT TO GRADUATE!!!