Systems and methods for scheduling data transmissions in a wireless communication system using scheduling requests and grants. In one embodiment, a wireless communication system has a base station and one or more mobile stations coupled by a wireless link having forward- and reverse-link channels. The base station is configured to receive requests from the mobile stations, to process the requests independently of a base station controller, to allocate communication link resources among the mobile stations, and, if necessary, to transmit one or more grants to the mobile stations in accordance with the allocation of communication link resources. Each mobile station is configured to transmit data to the base station in accordance with any grants received from the base station.