Allegations that Prokick in Australia has altered transcripts of some players that aren't eligible or already used up eligibility.
Our punter came from Prokick.
foxsanantonio.com
San Antonio — Tonight's Super Bowl is the culmination of years of sacrifice for players and their families. From high school to college, it takes dedication to become a professional football player.
And it's not just American kids looking to make their dream a reality, Australian punters have made their way into U.S. college football in numbers never seen before.
But as our exclusive seven-month investigation into troubling allegations of doctored documents and ineligible players taking football scholarships from American and Australian players suggests there may also be immigration fraud being committed.
AUSTRALIAN PUNTERS FILLING COLLEGE ROSTERS
Australian punters and kickers are in high demand in U.S. college football. From Notre Dame's championship program to teams right here in Texas, UTSA, UT Austin, and Texas Tech have Australian players on their roster.
However, allegations surfaced seven months ago suggesting that not all kickers and punters playing college football in the U.S. were eligible to receive not only a scholarship but also a student visa, potentially violating NCAA regulations.
"The injustice is there are players that are doing it the right way, Australian and international players, American players that are doing it the right way, that have legit transcripts,” said a college coach who wants to remain anonymous.
This coach first encountered this issue while recruiting a player who had already used some of his eligibility in Australia.
He later discovered that the same athlete was re-represented as a four-year eligible freshman by the Australian company Prokick.
"He had started working with Prokick, and they were these coaches that I was talking to who were under the impression that he had four years to play. He had never been to college, and I said, that's not what I discovered when I was recruiting him, he had three years to play,” said the college coach.
To investigate these claims, we enlisted the help of Ken Gamble, Chairman of IFW International, to verify the authenticity of the documents we obtained. They included the academic records of several Australian players who received scholarships.
"These students that we've investigated have attended university full-time, and we don't believe that it was disclosed. If there has been a misrepresentation of their educational standards, then this is not only a violation of the NCAA eligibility rules, but it's also fraud. in their visa documents,” said Gamble.
In one case, an athlete's real transcript from an Australian school showed failing grades. However, the transcript submitted for NCAA eligibility we were shown had significantly higher grades allegedly altered to meet academic requirements.
"He had three sets, right? So we had one from the school, okay, one from Prokick. But when they looked at it and they sent it to him, his GPA wasn't high enough out of high school, so they redid it and he sent it to me. I said, Why is it that this one, you gotta B in it. And this one you gotta C ” said a recruiting expert in Australia
This trainer and recruiter, who also requested anonymity, provided us with several transcripts. He claims were altered by Prokick to help players secure U.S. scholarships. These were some of the documents Gamble investigated.
"There was a kid that actually outed himself. They sat down. He sat down with his advisor and said, "Oh, you need to take these classes and these classes. And then he was like, no, no, I already took that in university. And they said, What?" They did some research. And they said, "You've already gone to uni? You've got, you know, two weeks to pack your bags and get out of here,” said the trainer.
PROKICK AUSTRALIA: NO RESPONSE
We reached out to Prokick Australia for comment but have not received a response.
Coaches and trainers tell us that this not only undermines the integrity of the scholarship system but also takes away opportunities from American athletes.
THE IMPACT ON AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Renowned special teams coach Mike McCabe has voiced frustration over Prokick's recruitment practices and their impact on the U.S. market.
"The punting market in the U.S. has dropped by over 54%.,” Mike McCabe, Special Teams Trainer
McCabe is the owner and founder of One-on-One Kicking, one of the top training programs in the country.
"Yami: We are specifically talking about Prokick and some of the players that they've had. Are you familiar with them and what has been going on?”
"Yeah, I am. Yes. I think the whole country pretty much knows, in our industry and kicking, what is going on.” said Mike McCabe.
Like other coaches and trainers we spoke to, McCabe believes many of these players were not eligible due to grade issues and prior playtime in Australia. He argues that there needs to be better oversight in college football.
"When you see a certain company that guarantees that you are going to have a full scholarship no matter where you go or if you come there to train there, that's a big red flag," Mike McCabe.
If these athletes' eligibility records were falsified, their student visas may also contain false information, raising concerns about possible immigration fraud.
"If you're coming from a different country, you'd have to alter your visa just to be able to get into the United States. So you know that there is, is, is a big no-no,” Mike McCabe.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Sources say the fault does not lie with the players themselves but with the companies representing them, and the college coaches accepting them without proper independent verification by the University themselves.
Another source with the NCAA tells us that verifying documents from halfway across the world is a challenge.
"So it's not necessarily their fault, but it is like these college coaches, they don't, they don't really know either, because they're taking Prokick at face value when they say, "No, no, he has never been to college," said McCabe.
Investigator Ken Gamble believes the ultimate responsibility falls on U.S. colleges to properly vet scholarship applicants.
"What they should be doing is they should be getting the student to sign a disclosure document, allowing them to seek the information. They should sign a letter of authority, allowing the university here to obtain over there any historical educational records from universities in Australia,” said Gamble
Our punter came from Prokick.
Exclusive: Allegations of Fraud in Australian players Pipeline to U.S. College Football
Tonight's Super Bowl is the culmination of years of sacrifice for players and their families. From high school to college, it takes dedication to become a profe
foxsanantonio.com
San Antonio — Tonight's Super Bowl is the culmination of years of sacrifice for players and their families. From high school to college, it takes dedication to become a professional football player.
And it's not just American kids looking to make their dream a reality, Australian punters have made their way into U.S. college football in numbers never seen before.
But as our exclusive seven-month investigation into troubling allegations of doctored documents and ineligible players taking football scholarships from American and Australian players suggests there may also be immigration fraud being committed.
AUSTRALIAN PUNTERS FILLING COLLEGE ROSTERS
Australian punters and kickers are in high demand in U.S. college football. From Notre Dame's championship program to teams right here in Texas, UTSA, UT Austin, and Texas Tech have Australian players on their roster.
However, allegations surfaced seven months ago suggesting that not all kickers and punters playing college football in the U.S. were eligible to receive not only a scholarship but also a student visa, potentially violating NCAA regulations.
"The injustice is there are players that are doing it the right way, Australian and international players, American players that are doing it the right way, that have legit transcripts,” said a college coach who wants to remain anonymous.
This coach first encountered this issue while recruiting a player who had already used some of his eligibility in Australia.
He later discovered that the same athlete was re-represented as a four-year eligible freshman by the Australian company Prokick.
"He had started working with Prokick, and they were these coaches that I was talking to who were under the impression that he had four years to play. He had never been to college, and I said, that's not what I discovered when I was recruiting him, he had three years to play,” said the college coach.
To investigate these claims, we enlisted the help of Ken Gamble, Chairman of IFW International, to verify the authenticity of the documents we obtained. They included the academic records of several Australian players who received scholarships.
"These students that we've investigated have attended university full-time, and we don't believe that it was disclosed. If there has been a misrepresentation of their educational standards, then this is not only a violation of the NCAA eligibility rules, but it's also fraud. in their visa documents,” said Gamble.
In one case, an athlete's real transcript from an Australian school showed failing grades. However, the transcript submitted for NCAA eligibility we were shown had significantly higher grades allegedly altered to meet academic requirements.
"He had three sets, right? So we had one from the school, okay, one from Prokick. But when they looked at it and they sent it to him, his GPA wasn't high enough out of high school, so they redid it and he sent it to me. I said, Why is it that this one, you gotta B in it. And this one you gotta C ” said a recruiting expert in Australia
This trainer and recruiter, who also requested anonymity, provided us with several transcripts. He claims were altered by Prokick to help players secure U.S. scholarships. These were some of the documents Gamble investigated.
"There was a kid that actually outed himself. They sat down. He sat down with his advisor and said, "Oh, you need to take these classes and these classes. And then he was like, no, no, I already took that in university. And they said, What?" They did some research. And they said, "You've already gone to uni? You've got, you know, two weeks to pack your bags and get out of here,” said the trainer.
PROKICK AUSTRALIA: NO RESPONSE
We reached out to Prokick Australia for comment but have not received a response.
Coaches and trainers tell us that this not only undermines the integrity of the scholarship system but also takes away opportunities from American athletes.
THE IMPACT ON AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Renowned special teams coach Mike McCabe has voiced frustration over Prokick's recruitment practices and their impact on the U.S. market.
"The punting market in the U.S. has dropped by over 54%.,” Mike McCabe, Special Teams Trainer
McCabe is the owner and founder of One-on-One Kicking, one of the top training programs in the country.
"Yami: We are specifically talking about Prokick and some of the players that they've had. Are you familiar with them and what has been going on?”
"Yeah, I am. Yes. I think the whole country pretty much knows, in our industry and kicking, what is going on.” said Mike McCabe.
Like other coaches and trainers we spoke to, McCabe believes many of these players were not eligible due to grade issues and prior playtime in Australia. He argues that there needs to be better oversight in college football.
"When you see a certain company that guarantees that you are going to have a full scholarship no matter where you go or if you come there to train there, that's a big red flag," Mike McCabe.
If these athletes' eligibility records were falsified, their student visas may also contain false information, raising concerns about possible immigration fraud.
"If you're coming from a different country, you'd have to alter your visa just to be able to get into the United States. So you know that there is, is, is a big no-no,” Mike McCabe.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Sources say the fault does not lie with the players themselves but with the companies representing them, and the college coaches accepting them without proper independent verification by the University themselves.
Another source with the NCAA tells us that verifying documents from halfway across the world is a challenge.
"So it's not necessarily their fault, but it is like these college coaches, they don't, they don't really know either, because they're taking Prokick at face value when they say, "No, no, he has never been to college," said McCabe.
Investigator Ken Gamble believes the ultimate responsibility falls on U.S. colleges to properly vet scholarship applicants.
"What they should be doing is they should be getting the student to sign a disclosure document, allowing them to seek the information. They should sign a letter of authority, allowing the university here to obtain over there any historical educational records from universities in Australia,” said Gamble
