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Syracuse recruit Tyler Roberson, seen here at the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

(AP Photo/Damen Jackson via Triple Play New Media)

Syracuse, NY -- As Tyler Roberson continues to wait for word from the NCAA about his Syracuse University fate, time ticks down to a deadline.

Roberson, the acclaimed 6-foot-9 forward from Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, still has not been notified by the NCAA about whether he has met academic requirements for incoming freshmen.

"Still waiting," he said in a text message at 5 p.m. today.

The NCAA determines initial eligibility based on a combination of standardized tests (SAT, ACT) and grade point averages in NCAA approved core courses. Sources say that Roberson completed summer course work at Roselle Catholic in late July to raise his grades in order to meet initial requirements. Roselle Catholic officials subsequently said Roberson had satisfactorily completed the work and sent his paperwork to the NCAA.

The NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as the Clearinghouse) is historically swamped during the summer months with applications it needs to clear before athletes can enroll in their schools of choice. But the delay in a determination on Roberson's case is now growing increasingly fraught with each passing day.

SU spokesman Kevin Quinn declined to comment on when the university can admit its final students of this semester, though a different source said Roberson must hear from the NCAA before Tuesday, the last day that students can add or drop courses at SU. (Syracuse students started classes last Monday.)

If Roberson doesn't learn his fate by then, his National Letter of Intent (NLI) will be void, he will be considered a non-qualifier, and his SU commitment is no longer binding.

Roberson said by telephone earlier this week that he had considered other options should that happen. He did not reveal what those options might be, since, he said, he hopes to be cleared by the NCAA.

Should he fail to qualify, Roberson could still attend SU, but must pay his own way since his athletic scholarship would be voided by his status as a non-qualifier. Should he opt to do that, the clock would also start on his NCAA participation. Athletes have five years to complete four years of playing a specific sport.

Sources have said that Roberson likely will not enroll at SU should he fail to qualify. He could enroll in prep school, a likely destination, though SU would then need to re-recruit and re-sign Roberson to a NLI.

Roberson has spent the past few weeks checking the NCAA website several times daily to see whether it reveals any news of his situation. Sources have said both he and his family have grown increasingly distressed about the lack of a definitive answer.

It's unclear whether the NCAA's eligibility staff will be working this holiday weekend. An NCAA spokesman has not returned an email seeking that information.