Add Luke Fickell to the ever-growing list of coaches that have a bone to pick with Jim Harbaugh. On Tuesday, The Athletic published a story on the transfer of James Hudson. Hudson transferred from Michigan to Cincinnati on December 1, and he was seeking to become eligible immediately. His request was denied by the NCAA in May, and both Fickell and Hudson believe that Harbaugh played a role in Hudson being forced to sit out the 2019 season.
Accounts of how James Hudson's request for a transfer waiver to play immediately for @GoBearcatsFB was handled vary depending who you ask. @Williams_Justin talked to Hudson's mother, Jim Harbaugh, Luke Fickell and the NCAA to get their perspectives. https://t.co/usEVZrw0l7
— The Athletic (@TheAthleticCIN) August 13, 2019
The story shows how messy transferring can be and highlights how fickle the current waiver process is for student athletes. Hudson saw limited action at Michigan, appearing in just three games during the 2018 season, and he entered his name in the transfer portal in October.
Fickell and Cincinnati filed the paperwork to have Hudson immediately eligible season, but the initial request and subsequent appeals were denied by the NCAA. That frustrated Fickell who was very candid when discussing the ordeal with The Athletic:
“Here’s what I believe in the whole waiver process: the number one, most important thing, and all the power, comes from the school that a kid is leaving. No matter what,” Fickell told The Athletic. “(Michigan) didn’t back the waiver. They can say what they want to say, but the only thing they said that was positive was that if the NCAA chooses to make (Hudson) eligible, then they would accept it — that they didn’t have an angle. They are just trying to cover their ass. And I’m really, completely disappointed in it.
“They can say they didn’t undermine it, but they didn’t work to help the kid out.”
Harbaugh has fired back surrounding the particulars of the transfer, stating that the school did not block Hudson’s waiver. In a press conference on Tuesday evening, the Michigan coach claimed that Fickell tried to tell him what to say to the NCAA in order for Hudson to become eligible, and Harbaugh refused.
We’ll probably never know the truth of the matter, and the best take was given by The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner.
There's no winner in a public disagreement between two rich coaches over student-athlete welfare. As, again, the player ends up hurt the most.
The NCAA is absurd, all can and will agree.
Beyond that, for Jim Harbaugh, it's time to coach the team. https://t.co/JSQdEqZKK1
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) August 14, 2019
