The athletic department is committed to helping departed quarterback Demetrius Jones find a new school, athletic director Kevin White said in a statement Thursday.
"Today, without formal confirmation of Demetrius' status, we reached out to him to assist him and his family in ascertaining his athletic and academic future plans," White said in the statement.
Jones, a sophomore who started Notre Dame's opening game against Georgia Tech on Sept. 3, abruptly left South Bend Sept. 14, just one day before Notre Dame's 38-0 loss to Michigan. He has enrolled at Northern Illinois University.
White's statement implied, however, that Jones may not be at Northern Illinois permanently.
"We are helping Demetrius compile a list of prospective schools that are not on our immediate future football schedules," the statement said. "We will grant him a release to those schools, and we will assist him in settling at another institution as best we can. It's our hope that Demetrius can enroll at an institution at which he might be able to receive a scholarship, possibly be eligible for the 2008 football season and, importantly, continue to make progress toward his degree without interruption."
Due to the abrupt nature of his departure, Jones has not been released from his scholarship by the athletic department. But White's statement said that his department has contacted Jones and that "the University and he are now working together in our customary fashion.
"We have initiated our normal protocol by identifying a list of institutions to which he has an interest in transferring," the statement said. "Our hope is that this process assists him in finding an institution that will enable him to meet his goals both as a student and as an athlete."
If Jones decides to stay at Northern Illinois, he would not be on a football scholarship during the 2007-08 academic year because the Huskies' football team is already at the 85 scholarship maximum. He would also have to sit out the remainder of this season, per NCAA rules, but he would eligible to play in the fall of 2008.
Parseghian statue to be
dedicated
A statue of legendary Irish coach Ara Parseghian will be dedicated Saturday morning at Notre Dame Stadium.
The statue will be located inside Gate D, which is the gate closest to Mendoza College of Business.
Seating inside the gate is by-invitation-only, but the general public is invited to view to dedication from just outside the stadium.
The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m.
