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USF wants school to explain athlete's grade changes

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Only one Wesley Chapel senior signed with USF for an athletic scholarship for the coming school year, said USF assistant athletic director Chris Freet. That student was football standout Kamran Joyer, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive lineman. He has since been granted his release from the school.

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune
and LINDSAY PETERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 15, 2009

Updated: 07/15/2009 10:18 am

TAMPA - The University of South Florida has asked Pasco County school officials to explain "an unusual number" of grade changes on the transcript of a recent graduate USF recruited to play sports.

Robert Spatig, USF's director of undergraduate admissions, outlined and questioned the nine grade changes in letters last month to Pasco school Superintendent Heather Fiorentino and Wesley Chapel High School principal Andrew Frelick.

The NCAA is also investigating, Spatig said in his letters.

"Our office would be concerned about and ultimately question any transcript where more than 40 percent of the applicant's grades in college preparatory coursework were changed during the student's senior year," Spatig wrote to Frelick on June 23.

"Because [the individual] is a recruited student-athlete in a high profile sport, it is all the more critical that we complete our due diligence by verifying that he received no special consideration as an athlete either to secure final qualifier status with the NCAA or gain admission as a freshman to USF."

In Spatig's two letters, obtained through a public records request by The Tampa Tribune, the recruit's name was redacted.

However, only one Wesley Chapel senior signed with USF for an athletic scholarship for the coming school year, said USF assistant athletic director Chris Freet. That student was football standout Kamran Joyer, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive lineman.

On June 29, three days after Spatig's letter to Fiorentino, Joyer asked for a release from USF because he was denied admission, said his father, Jack Joyer. USF granted the request.

On Tuesday, Jack Joyer said his son was denied admission because a USF committee that reviews academic records would not accept the grades in classes his son retook.

He said his son retook four courses – two online and two through Pasco's adult education program – and he was unaware of the investigations into his son's transcript.

When USF officials became suspicious, they pulled a sample of transcripts from other Wesley Chapel applicants and found nothing similar to the nine grade changes.

But they didn't have access to the students' complete records, including paper records, Spadig said. So he asked the district to review records of all grades assigned to every Wesley Chapel student who applied to USF.

The Pasco school officials sent their review to USF this week and learned on Wednesday that the grades had been assigned appropriately and all the students would be admitted as planned, said Renalia Dubose, assistant superintendent for administration.

But the district has not yet finished its inquiry into how the athletic recruit's grades were changed. Dubose said Fiorentino planned to send a report to USF on Monday.

Assistant Superintendent Ruth Reilly wouldn't discuss the recruit's case in particular. But she said Pasco allows students to replace failing grades as part of the Pupil Progression Plan by retaking classes through an online program or through Pasco's Adult and Community Education Program.

The recruit's grade changes came to light as USF officials were preparing to submit his record to USF's Faculty Committee for the Admission of Student-Athletes. The two-year-old committee reviews the academic records of all recruits to see if they meet admission standards.

USF had four copies of his transcripts. Often an applicant will submit a transcript in his junior year and two or three more as he completes each semester until graduation. Each contains a list of every course taken until the time the transcript is submitted.

Spatig questioned why nine grade changes were made during the student's senior year. "They raised concerns we couldn't rectify on our own," he wrote.

One course Spatig questioned was a Biology I class the student took during the 2005-06 year. His transcripts showed the grades changed from a D to a B.

In several cases two semester grades were combined as one grade, the higher of the two, for the full year. For example, English I semester grades of C and D on one transcript were changed to a full-year grade of C on a later transcript.

These changes resulted in "a significant improvement in [the student's] WCHS grade point average," Spatig wrote.

In a letter to Spatig, Frelick cited a Pasco district policy that allows principals to give a student the higher of two semester grades. But Spatig countered that this is allowed only when the lower grade is an F. In the recruit's case, only one of the nine grades changed was an F.

Also Pasco County's district school board does not allow "grade replacement" if an individual has a semester grade of C or higher.

"We're trying to answer some of the University of South Florida's questions," Pasco assistant superintendent Jim Davis said. "We're trying to address their concerns and make sure the student progress plan was administered correctly."

Spatig has asked Fiorentino to produce "a statement in writing from Principal Frelick that is endorsed by you confirming that [the student] did not receive special consideration as a highly recruited student-athlete specifically to manipulate his grade point average to meet NCAA qualifications."

He said on Tuesday that the Pasco school officials have been "extremely cooperative" in the investigation. "Superintendent Fiorentino has been very responsive."

Frelick did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday and Wednesday.

NCAA spokeswoman Renee King said the NCAA would not comment or confirm any ongoing investigations.

While the school district continues its investigation – the first of this kind in at least 25 years, said Summer Romagnoli, a Pasco County School District spokeswoman – Kamran Joyer could still be playing football for a Big East Conference school this fall.

Joyer is visiting the University of Louisville today his father said. Even though, the NCAA is investigating Joyer's academic credentials, he may still sign with Louisville since he had previously been approved academically by the NCAA.

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