Add The New York Post on Google Victory Vaka had the rug ripped out from under him.
Two months after the Western Kentucky senior defensive lineman’s mom died suddenly, the university is pulling his scholarship.
Vaka, a transfer from Texas Southern, lost his mom on April 2 and flew home to grieve his loss. He planned to return to Western Kentucky and play the 2026 season.
His assistant strength coach also passed along a workout program and called him nine days before his mother’s funeral to lay out the expectation that Vaka would be back in June.
Yet, when Vaka was not back on May 26, university chief of staff Travis Taylor told the lineman the next day that the Hilltoppers were canceling his scholarship.
“I was shocked,” Vaka told CBS Sports.
Victory Vaka and his mother. Instagram @victoryvaka Not only that, the university processed Vaka as a “failure to report,” which does not allow him to enter the transfer portal through the NCAA’s aid reduction or cancellation exemption.
The NCAA also denied Vaka’s legislative relief waiver.
It leaves Vaka with a semester left to graduate and no way to transfer to use his final year of eligibility.
“It’s like inhumane what they did,” said Vaka. “When some of these coaches say they care, they really don’t.”
Vaka, 6-foot-3, 335 pounds, went on to explain that head coach Tyson Helton didn’t provide a specific return timeline for him and added that he would support Vaka’s decision if he wished to go elsewhere, especially closer to home in Hollywood, Calif.
Looking back, Vaka has the feeling the Hilltoppers were looking to replace him all along.
“I didn’t want to leave Western Kentucky, but I had to be back at home,” Vaka said. “[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.”
View this post on Instagram “In my mind, they were giving me the whole month of May off,” Vaka added, 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.”
Jaykwon Jefferson, Vaka’s agent, told CBS that various FBS schools would be willing to sign Vaka after the incident if he were able to enter the portal.
For the fallout, Taylor pointed out that Vaka wouldn’t be ready to play after being away from the team for two months. He told Jefferson that there was “no ill will” but noted that it’s a “business.”
“We pay them all this money and tell them, ‘All right, now we expect you to be an adult and communicate and do all the things that adults do,'” Taylor said per CBS.
On the day of his mother’s death, Vaka paid tribute to her through an Instagram post that featured several young photos of him with her, including high school graduation.
Victory Vaka and his mother at his high school graduation. Instagram @victoryvaka “Dear momma, I love you so so so so very much. I’m so sorry. Please watch over me and your babies. My heart is so broken for you baby. You’re in such a better place now,” he wrote in the caption. “Give grandma and grandpa hugs and kisses for me please. Whenever you couldn’t come to games, I knew what was up. I’d cry after games that you’d come to because I didn’t know when I’d see you again. You were so sick and you still tried your best because you’re the best mother in the world. You’d tell me you couldn’t do long drives anymore and would ask me or your babies to drive you because of your condition. You’d get us everything we wanted and needed and do it with the biggest smile on your face.
“I still aspire to be the person you were and I don’t know if I ever will. My role model frfr. I will still do everything I said I was gonna do. And will do it under your watch!! Forever in debt. I love you so very much momma bear. ❤️”
In 2025 with Texas Southern, Vaka recorded 12 tackles across nine games.
