AIKO JONES LEAVING UOFL? -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS VOLLEYBALL GREAT TO LEAVE SQUAD/STAFF? 

If one mentions the name Aiko Jones around the UofL campus,any sports followers thee  will immediaely recognize her as one of the best ever to play Volleyball for the Cards. An unconfirmed but highly legitimate source at UofL tells us that her days may ne done on the Belknap Campus, with the word being that she may be leaving the University of Louiville and her graduate teaching assistant position and her playng eligibility has come to an end. .  

Graduate teaching assistants help faculty members teach undergraduate students. Known as GTA's, they are graduate students that take courses and study in a speciaized field. They do normally have eligibility left to play on teams, but there is word that Jones had been a grad assistant since 2018 has no playong time left. . They can have any number of tasks, from grading papers to helping sports information directors verify and proofread publications about the team. 

GTA's are usually on some type of scholarship and the position is sometimes consindered a team manager of sorts 

One listing of the Cards potential Vollleyball roster for 2024, however,  still has her listed as a outside hitter on the 2024 squad, so there is a bit of confusion, Aiko's website (aikojnes.com) doesn't really help clear up anything concerning her status, either.

The actual Cards 2024 roster has not been officially released yet, so we'll see what comes up on it for Dani Busboom Kelly's squad. . 

Jones arrived at UofL in 2018 and redshirted that season. She was an important contributor to the roster as an outside hitter for five seasons... from 2019-2023.

Jones had this to say about her and her life and status last summer. : 

.....The best decision I have ever made was also the hardest and scariest decision I have ever made. It was a decision that would change how people viewed me and how much they respected me. It was a decision that I thought would change my life forever and I was right about that, but I was wrong about what that change would look like. The best decision I have ever made was telling the world a very small detail about me. The best decision I have ever made was “coming out”.

As I write this, I am approaching 24 years old. I am a second-year master’s student in the University of Louisville’s Communication program. I have a dog and a cat, and I love to bake. I like puzzles, I love learning, and I wish I were ambidextrous. I am also engaged … to the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life. As I write this, I am proud, not of rainbows and labels and pride parades, but of my authenticity and my constant effort to live my truth. As I write this, I am proud to be who I am, and to be her publicly......

Whatever Aiko decides to take on next, we certainly wish her the best of luck here at Cardinal Couple. The old adage is: "You can't keep them forever.." but, in Jones case... she is one that a lot of Cardinals fans wish could remain on campus forever...

paulie