In Reversal, Walker Granted Eligibility for ’23 Season
In a surprising reversal of an earlier decision, the NCAA has granted Tar Heel wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker eligibility to play football. The association claimed it recently received new information that UNC had “failed to provide” previously.
Walker will be eligible to play in UNC’s next game, against Syracuse Oct. 7.
Walker, a transfer from Kent State University, began the fight for eligibility in August when the NCAA denied his waiver to play this season under their new two-time transfer rule. The rule, passed in January, requires a player to sit out a season if the move to a new school is the second transfer during the player’s collegiate career.
Walker committed to East Tennessee State University in 2019, but deferred his enrollment due to a knee injury. He enrolled at N.C. Central University in 2020, but the school’s season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Walker then transferred to Kent State, where he played for two seasons, before transferring to UNC. He enrolled in the University two days before the NCAA passed the new rule. He has said he transferred to Carolina to be closer to his ailing grandmother, who has never seen him play on a collegiate level, and cites coaching changes at Kent State affecting his mental health.
The NCAA’s announcement did not specify what the new information was that prompted it to change its decision. The NCAA said in its statement that Walker’s absence in the first four games could have been avoided if the University had “submitted this information weeks ago.”
Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham, however, denied the NCAA’s characterization of what happened, saying in a statement posted on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, that “the justification provided by the NCAA today is not accurate. The University submitted all necessary information and documentation as it was made available to us at the time and we still believe Tez met all standards for the waiver in early August.”
“I’m so excited and thankful that the NCAA has granted my eligibility to play this season,” Walker said in a statement posted to X. “This hasn’t been easy, but I’m looking forward to putting this in the past and moving forward. I always knew UNC was a special place, but it’s proved it over and over again throughout the last few months. I can’t wait to put on that jersey, run out of the tunnel, and play in Kenan Stadium.”
The campaign to have Walker ruled eligible has been unusually heated. After the NCAA ruled Walker ineligible Sept. 7, Coach Mack Brown fired off a statement saying he didn’t know if he’s “ever been more disappointed” in a group as he was the NCAA. The last sentence read, “SHAME ON YOU!”
Cunningham issued a statement saying the decision was “maddening” and hoped the NCAA would reconsider.
Today, NCAA President Charlie Baker and University of Georgia President Jere Morehead, the Division I Board of Directors chair, issued a pointed statement criticizing UNC officials for their handling of the case. “It is unfortunate that UNC failed to provide this important information previously,” they said in a statement posted on the NCAA website. “UNC’s behavior and decision to wage a public relations campaign is inappropriate and outside the bounds of the process UNC’s own staff supported. Had the UNC staff not behaved in this fashion and submitted this information weeks ago, this entire unfortunate episode could have been avoided.”
Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz posted a statement on X saying, “UNC provided all available information at every step of the process,” and added “in our stated effort to exhaust all avenues, new information about this matter came to our attention and we immediately gathered and submitted it for consideration.”
After the Sept. 7 decision, Brown and Cunningham attended a special meeting of the UNC Board of Trustees to discuss options. The meeting was conducted in closed session, but Brown stated in a press conference that he was hopeful of Walker’s options.
“Everything that’s transpired over the last few months has been with the sole purpose of helping and supporting [Walker], and now he’s going to have a chance to live his dream,” Brown said in a statement posted to X Oct. 5. “We want to express our gratitude to the people at UNC who have worked tirelessly to assist Tez. We never gave up.”
— Cameron Hayes Fardy ’23
