Question about grad school

DevilDog

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Sorry about the typing ahead of time I am using my cell on a cross country trip. My son was a highly recruited football player among the Ivy League and top schools a shade below D1 majors. We were discussing grad school. Next year he graduates USAFA would like to go to UPT then grad school. We were discussing the posibility of hIm playing football at Columbia Princeton or any grD school he still has 3 years of NCAA left. Can and how can it be done.
 
I have to ask, WHY?

Why risk any injury and the loss of a pilot slot?

I am just not following why. Not trying to be antagonistic, just trying to get why he would want to do it when a bad football hit could be a career ender.

Our close friend, AFA grad AFA FB player, F111s. Played intramural squadron flag FB and took a bad hit. It re-injured his AFA injury. He was medically DQd for the rest of his career from any ejection seat ariframes. Retired as an O6, but never flew again after that squadron FB game.

Is FB that big of a factor, or is it, it might be fun to do?
 
Sorry about the typing ahead of time I am using my cell on a cross country trip. My son was a highly recruited football player among the Ivy League and top schools a shade below D1 majors. We were discussing grad school. Next year he graduates USAFA would like to go to UPT then grad school. We were discussing the posibility of hIm playing football at Columbia Princeton or any grD school he still has 3 years of NCAA left. Can and how can it be done.

Going to UPT and then grad school is not going to happen. He would have an opportunity to go to grad school on a sponsored scholarship if he were, to say, get a teaching slot at USAFA. But UPT will be 1 year, B-course will be 6-12 months, get to a new squadron where he will be training as a wingman for 2-3 years, and by then his "eligibility" is up.

Grad school before upt is the norm, but the other way is not.
 
The question is not why but can it be done. He was an all state athlete in 3 sports and misses
The competion. He is a highly competitive athlete that just was a step to slow for AF football. He was rec ruited for two other sports and got cut after doolie year. He may not play again but just wants to know the options.
 
Going to UPT and then grad school is not going to happen. He would have an opportunity to go to grad school on a sponsored scholarship if he were, to say, get a teaching slot at USAFA. But UPT will be 1 year, B-course will be 6-12 months, get to a new squadron where he will be training as a wingman for 2-3 years, and by then his "eligibility" is up.

Grad school before upt is the norm, but the other way is not.
Thank you for that answer
 
Sometimes, for answers posters may want to understand the reason behind the question.

For example, as hornet stated it is typical he would go grad with a follow on to UPT. Would he opt this route to play FB?

I could have asked why he would want to go to grad in residence after UPT regardless of FB as a newly minted O3? Most fliers would want WIC, TPS or even T-birds, not grad school.

I truly was not being antagonistic, I just didn't follow the thought process if he wants to fly. I did not understand why anyone would risk it physically, hence why.

If he likes competition...trust me with a child at UPT, and a spouse that flew fighters, fought for and got in resident PME (sister schools) he will be in a competitive world. Might not being hitting bodies, except for Friday night playing crud, but the flying world is highly competitive.

Again, just curious, but you mentioned 2 specific colleges. Columbia and Princeton. Why those 2?
 
The basic NCAA rule is "five to play four." A person's 5-year clock starts ticking when he or she first enrolls in college. In general, once that 5-year clock has expired, a student is not eligible to participate in NCAA sports.

There is a lot of fine print allowing various exceptions, so consult your local NCAA eligibility expert.

Or, more easily, have your cadet consult with the USAFA athletic department. They'll know the exceptions.
 
Sometimes, for answers posters may want to understand the reason behind the question.

For example, as hornet stated it is typical he would go grad with a follow on to UPT. Would he opt this route to play FB?

I could have asked why he would want to go to grad in residence after UPT regardless of FB as a newly minted O3? Most fliers would want WIC, TPS or even T-birds, not grad school.

I truly was not being antagonistic, I just didn't follow the thought process if he wants to fly. I did not understand why anyone would risk it physically, hence why.

If he likes competition...trust me with a child at UPT, and a spouse that flew fighters, fought for and got in resident PME (sister schools) he will be in a competitive world. Might not being hitting bodies, except for Friday night playing crud, but the flying world is highly competitive.

Again, just curious, but you mentioned 2 specific colleges. Columbia and Princeton. Why those 2?

Aloha Pima.....You took the words right out of my mind!....In a fighter jet community...its definitely competitive both physically and especially mentally. There's nothing like honing your flying skills in a ACM environment. pulling g's, anticipating two/three maneuvers ahead can make anyone exhausted after a sortie/sorties. Coming out of a sortie successfully both individually and as a unit makes it all worth while.

If by chance your son doesn't want or get fighters, flying in any AF Squadron takes a lot of commitment in other jobs within the Squadron besides being a just being a Pilot. Being a member in Promotion Boards in my day...I looked at the overall person so to speak...going to Grad school full time is great...since all you really need to do is be a full time student...but getting a Masters via night school whatnot also has its merits by itself. I tend to sway towards the night school and week-end student...because I was one...:thumb: I just enjoyed pulling G's too much to even think about going to Grad school full time. LOL! After all...in the end its all about getting the check mark and having outstanding OER's :smile: Just my .02 worth.
 
Why not have your son take up a different type of sport (read: less injury prone) while at UPT (though where he would find the time for this I have no idea). Fencing, Karate, etc. are all fiercely competitive w/o out the normal concussion factor of some other sports.

Or, join one of the squadron sports at UPT.

x x x x x x

Grad before rad
as far as UPT goes.
 
Thanks everyone. He and I appreciated the input. We were discussing this quite a bit today.
 
I think as noted above the 5 year rule would likely apply. There is an active duty military exception to the rule - but the exception to the exception is when you are active duty but also a full time student (which I think would apply to service academy students). Definitely should talk to the ncaa compliance officer.

For high physicality and lower risk of injury (assuming you tap out wisely) - jiu jitsu. Plenty of options in most metropolitan locations too. Lots of fun and good replacement for football, trust me.
 
eligibility

I was also going to mention the military exception to the "4 years of play/5 years to complete play" rule for eligibility. My understanding is that the clock is tolled during military service. So, technically, after 4 years at the Academy (assuming he played less than 4 years), he'd still have a year left to play. The "5 years to complete play" would be stayed while he's serving, so he may have one year left to play during graduate school. That one year could even be after serving his commitment. (All this assumes he's still in football shape at that point. I'm also not speaking to whether the AF would go for him playing football in graduate school before, during or after UPT during his service commitment or whether that's a good idea. I'm just addressing NCAA eligibility as I understand it.) And, if one of those Ivy League schools had interest in him for football, that just might help him get into the graduate program. The Ivys make adjustments for the athletes they want just like most all other schools.

As others have said, an NCAA compliance officer would need to weigh in (maybe even more than one).
 
SKT - I'm concerned about the exception to the active duty exception. I think the tolling does NOT occur if while on your active duty you are a full time student. This would result in the 5 year rules applying to all 4 years at USAFA.

Definitely one of those questions a definitive NCAA answer is needed on before planning around it.
 
tolling during military service

I agree that the tolling period probably doesn't apply to the years they are at the Academy. So, just 1 year remaining.
 
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