I am a Utes fan and I can see where this type of news is fodder for the fans. I hope that is not what it turns into. This is tragic for a kid who had his senior year in front of him to have this happen. Best of luck to M. Tonga in whatever his future does hold!

Oh well, like they say, "Every failure provides an OPPORTUNITY to begin again more intelligently".

Go Manase! Go Cougars!

Hope he gets his grades. He is a good power back. We are strong in the backfield so it should give some of the younger guys needed reps. I do have to congratulate BYU for following its own rules when it comes to suspensions. There have been too many schools who look past the rules just for the game....Ohio state comes to mind....Best of luck next year M. Tonga.

This is bad news for the team, but they will be fine... this just means more touches and more snaps at FB for Fui Vakapuna!

You expect things like to this to happen at the Harvard of the West.

Best of luck M Tonga.

This loss is somewhat costly for the Cougs. Tonga is the most complete back in the backfield. He's a terrific blocker. He does a good job of catching the ball and giving BYU short yardage gains. He will be missed. Vakapuna will have to fill his role now along with Wayne Latu but BYU should be okay because of their great depth. If the Cougs get past Washington and UCLA in the early games, then they should run the table. The biggest challenge after that will be at Rice Eccles. However, Mad Max has to stay healthy all season to bust the BCS just like Alex stayed injury free in '04. BYU will find the promised land without the Tonga brothers. Bronco and staff will have them ready to go. Players are already chomping at the bit. Apparently, so are fans including myself. BCS BOUND BYU!!!

I'd like to know who was on watch while one of our boys flunked his courses. Come on Bronco, football is more than X's and O's. You've really let this fan down. I hope the kid gets back on the right track.

What a good job by BYU. Like was said before many places would have worked the system to keep a star player on the field. I feel good knowing BYU held to the rules.
As for M Tonga... well I don't feel the least bit sad for him. He had a free ride at a university and wasted it. He knows better and deserves what he got.

Bronco let you down? Why can't Tonga be a little more responsible in his own schooling? Bronco shouldn't have to micromanage Tonga's grades. Tonga let you down, not Bronco. It sounds like you didn't have much faith in Bronco to begin with. One thing you shouldn't do is tell him how to do his job because you obviously don't really have a clue.

The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Tonga. He knew what was expected, he's over 18 year old, and responsible for what he does.

When you're building men, you shouldn't use babysitters.

Yes, being Tonga-less is disappointing, but the article indicates he wants to straighten this out and return next year. It takes character to correct mistakes and go for it again! Go MT!!

I thought Stanford was the Harvard of the West. What does this have to do with BYU???

College athletes get EVERY chance to succeed academically. BYU is no exception. I will miss seeing him play this year, but he should have put a bit more effort into the school part of his college experience.

LindonCougar... You can't be serious!? You are let down by Bronco? Why, because he held an adult accountable? If anyone "let you down" it'd be the player because of the choices he made. I wish I would have been your kid growing up. It'd always be someone else's fault...

I would have been surprised if Tonga had even entered a game this fall. Provo is so stacked at RB that he was going to be a nonfactor either way.

So Tonga doesn't get the grades he needs this semester, why is he kicked out of school next year? Can't he attend classes during the Spring and Summer with the chance of being re-instated if he gets better grades?

I'm a BYU Alum, but was never a fan of the Honor Code Office and the way they handle things. It seems to me that they carry too much weight, have very limited options for apeals, exceptions, and/or explanations. I agree that you have to be accountable and have to enforce rules, but not everything is completely black and white.

Kicking M. Tonga out for the entire semester seems harsh when there is an opportunity for him to work through the summer and demonstrate his desire to improve.

BYU is the Oral Roberts of the West, not the Harvard.

Often we worship our football players like they are gods. In reality many of them are thugs and not that bright. I remember my freshman year at BYU (way back in 78-79) when BYUs free safety decked a guy in the food line at the Cannon center. He still played that year. Somehow I can't imagine myself still being in school after that....

Oh no! Without Bonga in the backfield, what will we Courgars do?

Try looking at Oral Robgerts, or other MWC team, academic record and incoming ACT. BYU comes much closer to Stanford (No one cares about the 'Vard.) than any other school in this state. Good luck Tonga. The Cougars will survive and so will you. We'd love to see you on the field again.

BYU's going to take the loss and run with it! It's not going to make a difference one way or the other the COUG's are still going to come out on top! GO COUGARS!!

I do beleive that the grade issue has nothing to do with the Honor Code. Grades and the NCAA are the issue her.

I'm not sure the Honor Code deals with grade problems. I don't know why going Spring and Summer Terms won't get him eligible either. Any student struggling with grades can be put on probation or suspended, not just student-athletes. Maybe he had been previously warned or put on probation, thus receiving a harsher punishment. Maybe not, we don't know the details.

Unga will get back in school.

Most likely tonga has not been having good grades for a few semesters. I know from experience. You get below a 2.0 for three semesters,you get kicked out and have to re-apply. There is probably something not happening with the program. When an athlete has two semesters in a row that are bad, someone should talk to him and help him. You get warnings, and then suspension. Someone should have seen it coming. Ijust hope he gets his act together so he can graduate!!

I think H. Unga is still in school. This article is about M. Tonga. Too bad. He was a good back up RB.

"You get below a 2.0 for three semesters,you get kicked out and have to re-apply. There is probably something not happening with the program."

This is what concerns me too. This represents a long term problem. I assume the athletic dept. has academic coordinators who are supposed to keep an eye on what's happening with players' grades. Did someone fall asleep at the switch?

May not have anything to do with grades at all. Notice the article says NCAA ruled him ineligible. NCAA has rules for athletes, one of which is you have to be a certain percentage through your declared major depending on what year in school you are. Has more to do with did you take the right classes.
There are lots of other NCAA rules, that have to do with progress in general, and not specific grades.
Although failing classes could be part of it, that is not THE reason for this...

>Someone should have seen it coming.

Yeah, but if the individual doesn't do what he needs to do (and obviously Tonga didn't), no talking is going to help. The responsibility for completing required work that meets the established standards is 100% on the shoulders of the student. If you can't take the work load, go to a different university.

There are too many people in college who shouldn't be there in the first place anyway.

The Honor Code Office has nothing to do with this; it's about the Academic Standards. If a student doesn't get a 2.0 or higher in a semester or term, he/she goes on Academic Warning. If a student falls below 2.0 again any time thereafter--not necessarily the next semester or term, he/she is put on Academic Probation. That means you talk to a counselor and fill out some papers with goals, etc. If while on Probation, you drop below 2.0 again, you are suspended. This means you need to wait a period of 12 months before re-applying to the school and that is why going back for Spring and Summer wouldn't suffice.

All students are held to this same standard. I know a couple who have been suspended. I was on Academic Probation once myself.

They had plenty of warning.
Now he will miss the BCS game in January.
I always heard that they were held to a higher standard.

We're already stacked at the RB spot so his loss is lessened, although we will miss him. Good luck in getting your grades up! Unga, Vakapuna, and Deluigi will get used even more now!

thanks for writing "not an honor code problem" You make more sense with this than most. Seems I heard from somewhere that there might have been something going on way back in January.

TDS will lose three games this year: Washington=Loss; UCLA=Loss; Utah=Loss.

BCS bound, band of brothers need to attend band camp!!

BYU is not the Harvard of the West, I graduated from BYU trust me!.

Is that what BYU is calling itself now... Harvard of the West. Some have a skewed perception of who they are.

I've been a coach for almost 20 years now, and from my experience, if a kid can't cut it in the classroom, he'll end up letting you down on the field when the pressure is on. As for Lindon Cougar..... you're an idiot. It's not the coaches fault, it's not the school's fault, it's not the athletic department's fault. It's the player's fault. Let him learn the lesson now and take responsibility. If he steps up and takes care of what needs to be done, he'll be a much better man for it in the long run. Way to many people play the blame game. What ever happened to self-responsibility.

I agree that Tonga should be held responsible for his own grades and whatever consequences he has to face are his own fault. However, any college competing on the D1 level should have programs designed to help struggling student-athletes. If you look around the country it is relativly rare to see an institution let one of their starters get to the point of ineligablity (not that all schools cheat, more that they'll give them special attention like a tutor or something). I'd be interested to hear what our staff did to help Manase when it started looking like he wasnt going to make the grade.

Having attended both BYU and Harvard I'd say a more accurate statement would be . . . . . . . . . . . . BYU is the Bob Jones University of the west.

Bronco mendenhall needs to promote the classroom first, then the football game. This is a major let down to fans everywhere.

It states clearly at the beginning of the article that it wsa all about grades. I believe it uses the term "academically ineligible" so he has bad grades.

Jake D... if you were good enough to go to both... then it speaks the same degree of both (high or low, you take your pick). Give me a break. They can both stand on their own merits without taking another's name.

I wish BYU fans would stop comparing the school to Harvard and Stanford. It has a better mission and a different emphasis. After all, have you seen Harvard and Stanford play football? Phew!

I am a Yeut fahn and we are da best bie farr..bYu steenks.

To those who hold Coach Mendenhall blameless......you are a bunch of fools! Mendenhall knew that Tonga may struggle academically and might ultimately end up suspended! Too bad for the other backs he passed on whom could be making an impact next year in Tonga's place! I suspect after looking at a few other recruits this year, that Mendenhall's troubles are only going to get worse.....I predict that 3 of Mendenhall's linebackers alone will be academically suspended or will flunk out before they make an impact!

tonga has had many problems at BYU. He has been given chance after chance. Hopefully he'll wake up and be responsible. I appluad byu for their stance and hope it sends a message to other athletes. You shouldn't be able to get away with this kind of behavior. In ten years no one will remember who was all conference or all american, but what you do with your college degree can be remembered throughout generations

These kids play hard and essentially pay their own way with their football performance "job". In a real job employees typically have annual reviews of job performance. Then they are given some kudos or notice to make improvements. Since these kids are "making money" for themselves in the form of scholarships AND "making money" for the athletic department from spectator revenues, you would think there would be annual, semester, or interim semester "job" performance reviews. The school would protect its investment in its players if they had interim semester reviews. This would not be hand-holding but a form of "additional payment" for services to these young men. In the case of these kids, their performance involves not only their athletic performance (for the school)and their academic performance (for themselves). Maybe such reviews are being made. So how can all of the "commentors" criticize OR praise when they really don't know all of the rules and facts. I just wish this young man the best as well as the team,the coaches, and administration.

You guys are over reacting a bit don't you think. Just because the guy struggles in school does not mean he is some thug. He will be back

And, PRC....it's the other way around. Ten years from now football fans WILL be sitting around talking about who was all american. In ten years no one will have any idea who graduated from where.

Sounds like B.Y.U. needs to find a New Running back to take his place, Treivn Smith who plays for Weber State comes to mind, he is an amazing player, Although he is caucasian, and I have not seen B.Y.U. or U of U bring many white players on their teams as of late................

Why is it that everyone assumes that this is the coaches fault. I was a tudor for the athletic department at BYU when I was a student. The althletes were given all kinds of help extra help so that they could keep their grades up. Most of them did a good job. Despite all of the extra help they recieve, some of the players don't show up for tudoring, or don't attend classes, or don't learn the material. I had to personally walk (escort) some of the football players to their classes and to the testing center to take tests as part of my job. The coaches can't attend classes or take the tests for thier players.