Taylor v. Wake Forest

Taylor V. Wake Forest GREGG F. TAYLOR and GEORGE J. TAYLOR v. WAKE FOREST UNIVERISITY Key Facts Owing to his great football playing ability, Gregg F. Taylor drew the interest of a number of college and university football coaches from the start. After making an application for a football grant-in-aid or scholarship together with his father (George. J Taylor) - which was accepted by Wake Forest University (D), Gregg Taylor consequently signed an agreement, in which he was to take part in the football program for Wake forest University.

In compliance with the contract, Gregg Taylor participated in the program in the first semester of his freshman year. He attained an average grade point of 1 that semester which was essentially way below Wake Forest's freshman year grade average requirement of 1.35. Seeing that football was interfering with his academic progress, Gregg decided not to take part in the regular training sessions until his performance in class had improved.

However, despite the notable improvement in his grades in the second semester and during his sophomore year, Gregg Taylor still opted not to engage or partake in the said training sessions at Wake Forest University. At the end of his sophomore year, Wake Forest University scholarship committee terminated Greg Taylor's scholarship.

Taylor remained at Wake Forest, completed his junior and senior years and received an undergraduate degree, but then brought a suit against Wake Forest alleging breach of contract and seeking compensation to the sum of $5,500 in expenses incurred during the two years following the termination of the scholarship. Issue "Are participation in and attendance of practice sessions necessary to maintain eligibility for an athletic scholarship?" (Aspen Publishers 2). Court's Decision Summary judgment (with regard to the defendant) was granted by Forsyth County Superior Court.

The decision was affirmed by the appellate court. Court's Reasoning The concise rule of law; "yes, participation and attendance of practice sessions are required to maintain eligibility for an athletic scholarship, and refusal to do so amounts to non-compliance with contractual obligations" (Aspen publishers 2). The agreement between Gregg Taylor and Wake Forest essentially provided that the intercollegiate athletics rules were also considered the rules of Wake Forest, and Gregg Taylor, in compliance with the contract, had agreed to abide by them.

Additionally, Gregg Taylor and his father both knew that they had made an application for a football grant-in-aid, and that if accepted; a scholarship for both academic and athletic achievement would be awarded. In the words of Aspen Publishers, "Gregg Taylor had therefore agreed to maintain his athletic eligibility, both physically and scholastically" (2). He therefore had to.