Sept. 3, 2010

Nutt Press Conference

Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli may compete immediately, according to a decision today by the NCAA Division I Subcommittee for Legislative Relief. The subcommittee's decision overturns the staff decision that required Masoli to sit out the 2010-2011 season.

According to NCAA rules, created by member schools, football graduate student-athletes must receive a waiver in order to compete if they enroll at a university other than where they received their undergraduate degree.
 
Every NCAA waiver process includes a staff decision first and an opportunity for the school to appeal that decision to an independent committee. This group is comprised of representatives of NCAA member schools and conferences. Throughout both stages of the waiver process, the case is reviewed and evaluated based on the specific facts of that particular case, as disclosed during the review process. In this case, the staff, subcommittee and school all acknowledged the complexity of the waiver request.

"We would like to thank the NCAA staff and subcommittee for approaching this case and all of its details with diligence and fairness," said Pete Boone, Ole Miss Director of Athletics.

"We're very appreciative of the system and all the people involved," said Rebels head coach Houston Nutt. "We know it's very difficult, and we're excited about the decision. It's time to play football."