I haven't engaged on this board lately (and I don't plan to start again), but I do want to let you all know what I know.

I contacted Samantha last week when this broke. She informed me that she had met with the student-athlete who promoted this, and she then sent out an email to all student-athletes to clarify. She stated that there is no such policy. As has been in the past, it remains the coaches’ decisions as to who gets scholarships and how they are distributed.

I followed up today with Anthony Henderson to get more information on the emails from Peel Hawthorne and a coach that were referenced in the blog. They have pursued this and found that there was miscommunication within the department that resulted in the coach conveying incorrect information to the team.

Here is the email:

Dear Tribe,

There appears to be a misunderstanding among some student-athletes on the awarding of athletic scholarships. William & Mary Athletics provides each sport program with an annual scholarship budget. It is at the sole discretion of the head coach of each sport program to distribute that scholarship funding within NCAA regulations. This remains our practice.

Questions about our department policies and procedures are welcome. The best place to start is with your coach. Your sport administrator is willing to engage with you as well, as am I ultimately as athletics director.

We are one Tribe.

Some additional info:

- Scholarship budgets vary by sport and can change from year to year based on several factors, including fundraising success, budget availability, and financial aid costs as determined by the university.

-W&M Athletics currently pays more than $10 million per year to the university for scholarships, and increasing funding for scholarships is the primary goal of Athletics Advancement.

-Several student-athletes have already received increases in their athletic aid this year.

-In the upcoming strategic plan, increased funding for scholarships is one of the key metrics for which Athletics will be held accountable.

We will be hosting a student edition of Tribe Talks on September 17th in the Tidewater B room of the Sadler Center. (Note: this was in the works before learning of the change.org petition)

I look forward to engaging with you all in the coming weeks and months and am excited for the year ahead.

GO TRIBE!
Samantha