Missouri, Dorial Green-Beckham and the run-off waiver
It hasn’t been a secret that there’s a strong sense of confidence around the Switzer Center that Missouri transfer Dorial Green-Beckham would be eligible to play this season. Josh McCuistion of SoonerScoop.com reported as much almost as soon as Oklahoma announced that the talented wideout was joining the Sooners. Frankly, the decision to bring him in in the first place implied as much.
Judging by the reaction to today’s report from Jason Kersey of NewsOK.com that OU “officials” are “very confident” that Green-Beckham will suit up this season, people outside Oklahoma seem to be taking the possibility a little more seriously. That, or they can’t believe the chutzpah of said unnamed officials.
I still have the same question about this entire scenario that I’ve had from the beginning: Why is Mizzou facilitating this?
Under the terms of the NCAA’s “run-off” rule, Mizzou has to play a direct role in helping Green-Beckham obtain a waiver for eligibility this fall. I'll let John Infante explain the guidelines for such a waiver:
1. Documentation demonstrating that the student-athlete would not have had the opportunity to return to the previous institution’s team for reasons outside the control of the student-athlete.
2. A written statement from the applicant institution that the student-athlete is in good academic standing and meets all progress-toward-degree requirements at applicant institution.
3. A written statement from the student-athlete’s previous institution indicating that the previous institution supports the request.
Without Mizzou’s cooperation on points one and three, no waiver.
Presumably, schools rarely support these requests, so why is Missouri doing so now?