Two months after losing his mother, Victory Vaka was dealt another crushing blow. Just three weeks after laying her to rest, Western Kentucky called to inform him that the Hilltoppers were cancelling his scholarship.

"I was shocked," Vaka told CBS Sports.

After his mother, Sarah Mataele, suddenly passed on April 2nd, Victory Vaka had to return home to mourn. However, he remained committed to playing for Western Kentucky in 2026. During that time, an assistant strength coach contacted him and shared the summer workout plan, telling him to report by June.

According to CBS, on May 26, the assistant strength coach questioned him about his whereabouts. The very next day, WKU chief of staff Travis Taylor informed Vaka and his agent that the Hilltoppers were moving on.

The worst part? Western Kentucky reportedly classified him as a "failure to report," per CBS. This has prevented him from using the NCAA’s aid reduction or cancellation exception to enter the transfer portal.

“It’s inhumane what they did,” said Vaka. “When some of these coaches say they care, they really don’t.”

After his legislative relief waiver was denied, Vaka was left with one semester to graduate and no path to use his final season of eligibility.

Vaka’s agent, Jaykwon Jefferson, has expressed that multiple programs are ready to sign him. But WKU’s "failure to report" designation, followed by the NCAA’s rejection of his waiver, has slammed all the doors for him.

As per CBS, they sent Western Kentucky a list of questions and a request to interview the head coach, Tyson Helton, and athletic director, Todd Stewart, on Friday, July 17, but the school declined to comment, saying that neither Helton nor Stewart was available.

Meanwhile, Vaka already knew this was coming.

Victory Vaka believes WKU had already decided to move on

After stops at four different programs, the 335-pound defensive tackle believed that Western Kentucky would be his final college destination. He impressed during the offseason workouts and actively participated in spring training before everything unraveled.

Despite everything, he believed deep down that WKU was already looking for his replacement.

“I didn’t want to leave Western Kentucky, but I had to be back at home,” Vaka said per CBS Sports. “[Helton] asked me, ‘If you don’t come back out here, I’m not going to blame you.’ That kind of caught me off guard. I got that feeling they wouldn’t be mad if I didn’t come back.”

Vaka said an assistant strength coach contacted him nine days before the funeral and told him he was expected to return to Bowling Green by June. He expressed that although the college appeared to give him time to return, it never really gave him any closure.

“In my mind, they were giving me the whole month of May off,” Vaka added in the same interview, citing the assistant strength coach saying he expected him in June. “I think that’s where all this went sideways. The lack of communication from both parties.”

With the doors closed and Vaka's college career nearing its end if no one intervenes, his agent is still searching for a way out, but nothing is working in their favour.

What are your thoughts on Western Kentucky's decision on Vaka? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar