The scholarship situation for Grambling State women’s volleyball players remains relatively clear for some and unsettled for others just weeks before the start of the regular season.
The program has been in limbo since the school fired head coach Chelsey Lucas last month following the conclusion of an internal investigation.
Lucas came under fire for reportedly purging the entire roster in the offseason and suspending the scholarships of as many as 19 players.
One player, senior setter Sheila Borders, was informed that her scholarship was approved after a recent hearing with university officials, The News-Star reported. But it is, for now, unclear, whether she will have an opportunity to play, according to her mother, Tashia Bryce.
Also read: Chelsey Lucas says there was ‘a calculated plan’ to get her fired from Grambling
“What we’re waiting on right now is the criteria of the scholarship – on whether she is approved and will have to play, or approved and not play. She’s an athlete. She wants to play,” Bryce told Gannett Louisiana on Thursday. “She got the scholarship back, which is the most important part, but she’s waiting to see if she’ll be able to play.”
The newspaper reported that several other players have yet to have a hearing to determine their individual scholarship status.
Grambling senior associate athletic director Brian Howard said in an interview the school has not officially named a head coach, an announcement that is anticipated to be coming within a week. In the offseason, some players had been involved in non-organized open practices, he said.
Bryce said that she and many players have lost trust in Grambling after the ordeal with Lucas and want to know whether the university will be forthright with the athletes about their scholarship status.
“It’s an athletic scholarship,” she said. “We just want it to come to closure — give our kids what they had before, which is their education and their ability to play sports.”
