NCAA News Wire
NCAA clears Florida freshman Walker to play
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Florida Gators freshman Chris Walker was cleared to play by the NCAA on Wednesday and will be eligible to make his collegiate debut next week at home against Missouri.
The highly recruited 6-foot-10 power forward has been in limbo since being admitted to Florida in December. Walker has sat the last 12 games while the NCAA has investigated his amateur status.
The NCAA said in a statement that Walker received preferential treatment from five people — including two agents. Walker will be required to donate the $270 he received from the agents to a charity, and will also serve 80 hours of community service for the remaining benefits received, according to ESPN.com which first reported the story.
“According to the facts of the case, which were agreed upon by the university and NCAA staff, when Walker was a prospect, he accepted free cell phones and service, airfare, lodging, meals and apparel. Additionally, individuals close to Walker received free airfare and lodging for nine different trips, including eight associated with Walker’s non-scholastic basketball team competitions,” the NCAA statement said.
The third-ranked Gators are 17-2 and 6-0 in the SEC.
Florida plays Mississippi State on Thursday and Texas A&M on Saturday, and then the Gators face Missouri on Feb. 4 which will be Walker’s first game.
“I appreciate all the support from UF, Coach Donovan and my teammates, and I’m looking forward to helping the team any way I can,” Walker said in a statement.
“We’re glad there’s a resolution for everyone involved, especially for Chris,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We appreciate everyone’s participation in this process and are ready to move forward.”
