Logan Ehlers was finally released from his NCAA imposed exile today. He was placed there by the NCAA because he was said to have violated an out dated by-law when a representative had contact with the Toronto Blue Jays on his behalf. The punishment was extremely excessive for an action they admit will soon be under review and likely revised in their rule book.
Ehlers had already signed his letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Nebraska at Lincoln when he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth round of the 2010 MLB draft. Ehlers went into the draft with a number in mind that would be needed to alter his plans to play for the Huskers. He and his family consulted with an advisor on the matter. The Blue Jays made an offer of $800,000 and the advisor called Ehlers to confirm whether he changed his mind about his number. The advisor passed that info along in one thirty second phone call with a Blue Jays official and that was deemed enough to violate the "no agent" rule.
The NCAA expects a high school student and their family to enter negotiations with a multi-million dollar organization without guidance or assistance. The irony is that the NCAA is also a multi-million dollar organization which claims to make decisions with the student-athletes' interests in mind yet it is the NCAA which makes financial gains. One example is the lack of a playoff system for Division I football under the guise it would be too hard for the students. Yet the other divisions manage to have the same playoffs with no such qualms. Another example is the March madness cash cow where Division I basketball plays the same tournament the NCAA claims won't work for football while raking in millions from television rights and numerous sponsors.
The NCAA is inconsistent in how it applies and enforces its own rules. Former Oklahoma State pitcher Andy Oliver won a lawsuit over the same ruling as Ehlers but he then took a settlement which led the ruling to be thrown out. Dennis Poppe is the NCAA vice president of baseball and football and he said that the issue will be reexamined and a new approach will be taken in the future. Little good that did Ehlers as he had to sit out 60 percent of this season. It is likely that Poppe devotes the majority his time governing over the money sport football. The lax approach taken by the NCAA in doling out punishment for secondary violations in football is laughable as it was revealed Ohio State had over forty secondary violations per season before being finally caught for something that warranted actual suspensions. Another odd anomaly is that numerous players that attempted professional baseball careers and failed have been allowed to have another start in college football.
Ehlers finally saw the field today with a start against Kansas in the final game of a three game weekend series. He only lasted into the fifth inning as he gave up eight runs although only three were earned. The fact that Nebraska coach Mike Anderson decided to start Ehlers immediately on his first eligible game rather than let him get ramped up a game by coming out of the bullpen might point towards speculation that he might be on the hot seat. It will be interesting to see if Ehlers settles in as the third spot in the rotation that pitches on Sunday.
The damage is done and his career is now under way at the collegiate level. Hopefully Ehlers can advance along the learning curve and still perform well this nearly lost season. He is a talented lefthander with a promising future and can finally enjoy what he wanted to do in college.
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