This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
There was some confusion about the eligibility of UCLA transfer defensive end Kylie Fitts, so we asked Utah Director of Player Personnel Fred Whittingham for a clarification.
Here's the deal: After UCLA's coaches denied permission for Fitts to transfer to another Pac-12 school, Fitts appealed through the school's compliance department.
He asked that he be allowed to transfer to one of four Pac-12 schools, of which one was Utah. Granted.
He asked that he could immediately be eligible for financial aid at his new school. Granted.
He asked that he would not have to incur an intra-conference one-year eligibility penalty that essentially makes it as though he played during his NCAA-mandated competitive moratorium. Denied.
So Fitts will be on scholarship, attend school and practice with the team this year. He will not be eligible to play, but it will be as though he did. In 2015, he will have three years left on his five-year clock, but he will only be eligible to play two seasons.
Unless.
Fitts was injured for much of his true freshman 2013 season, Whittingham said, and he may retroactively apply for a hardship waiver. If the NCAA were to grant that, he would have three years left to play three seasons in 2015.
— Matthew Piper
Twitter: @matthew_piper