Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Kerwin Okoro was granted a hardship waiver to play immediately at Rutgers after transferring from the Iowa State Cyclones, the school announced.
Rutgers’ Kerwin Okoro granted NCAA waiver to play immediately
The NCAA reversed its previous decision on the transfer guard.
USA TODAY Sports
Okoro left Iowa State to be closer to home after his brother and father both died in an 11-month span from cancer and a stroke, and the sophomore from the Bronx, N.Y., chose Rutgers as his landing spot. When he initially applied in August for a hardship waiver to play without having to sit out the standard transfer year, the NCAA denied him, according to Tom Luicci of the Newark Star-Ledger.
New NCAA guidelines on granting hardship waivers were announced on Nov. 2, 2012, and the following were laid out as acceptable scenarios for a hardship waiver to be granted:
- The school presents medical documentation of a debilitating injury or illness to a student-athlete's immediate family member that is debilitating and requires ongoing medical care. The previous standard had been "life-threatening."
- The student-athlete demonstrates he or she will be responsible for regular, ongoing caregiving responsibilities. The previous standard required the student-athlete to be the primary, day-to-day caregiver.
- The school is within a 100-mile radius of the immediate family member's home, which demonstrates the ability for the student-athlete to provide regular, ongoing care. Previously, no distance limitation was in place.
- The school to which the student-athlete is transferring must submit a statement from the athletics director and faculty athletics representative confirming that the student-athlete will be relieved of responsibilities to the team in order to care for the injured or ill family member, and that the coaching staff will support such a departure.
As SB Nation’s Russell Steinberg wrote on Sept. 12, it seemed Okoro’s family situation qualified him for a hardship waiver under those new guidelines, yet he was initially denied. The waiver was only granted on appeal.
Okoro scored a total of nine points in 32 minutes across nine appearances last season for Iowa State. He’ll have three seasons of eligibility remaining at Rutgers.
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