ISUJeff
10-26-2007, 08:54 AM
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/SPORTS020604/710260395/1003/SPORTS
I'm biased, so thought I'd share here for some "less" biased thoughts.
Iowa State freshman guard Lucca Staiger has been declared ineligible by the NCAA pending an appeal, university officials confirmed Thursday.
The NCAA ruled that the club team Staiger played for in Germany for three seasons was professional because of the amount of compensation two of his teammates received - even though the German government considered it a non-profit, non-professional team.
Staiger, who is from Baulstein, Germany, was given the maximum penalty - the loss of one season of eligibility - under a first-year NCAA program that could affect other college players nationally.
Iowa State received the ruling Wednesday night.
"Lucca was distraught,'' Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. "It's really a sad deal."
This is the first year the NCAA Amateurism Certification program, used to determine the amateur status of domestic and international freshmen, has been in existence.
Fabian Boeke of Washington State, who played on the same Ehingen club team as Staiger, received the same penalty.
"I really think this will become a national story because this is the first one that involves a team from the Big 12 and the Pac-10, and all of a sudden these two guys aren't going to play," McDermott said. "This is precedent-setting."
Josh Snyder, Iowa State's associate athletics director in charge of compliance, said the university would appeal to the NCAA's Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee as soon as statements from Staiger; his club coach, Ralph Junge; and Iowa State officials are processed.
"I hope they take into account the sacrifices Lucca made so he would have this opportunity, and not hand down the maximum penalty," McDermott said.
Snyder said Staiger, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who was expected to fill an important role on this year's team, completed the online registration form required for certification on May 24. Snyder got involved in the process Aug. 21.
The NCAA didn't interview Junge until Sept. 4.
"The process has been excruciatingly slow," Snyder said.
Staiger attended Urspring Basketball Academy, a boarding school. Ehingen, made up of mostly teenagers who attended Urspring, paid two players to make the team more competitive against older teams in the league.
The NCAA ruled that those two players were compensated more than the minimum allowed, making the entire team professional.
"The thing we're disappointed in is here's a kid who did everything right," McDermott said.
"His dream was to come to the U.S. He had 30 clubs to choose from where he could have played. And he chose this one because he wouldn't jeopardize his eligibility to play in the U.S."
I'm biased, so thought I'd share here for some "less" biased thoughts.
Iowa State freshman guard Lucca Staiger has been declared ineligible by the NCAA pending an appeal, university officials confirmed Thursday.
The NCAA ruled that the club team Staiger played for in Germany for three seasons was professional because of the amount of compensation two of his teammates received - even though the German government considered it a non-profit, non-professional team.
Staiger, who is from Baulstein, Germany, was given the maximum penalty - the loss of one season of eligibility - under a first-year NCAA program that could affect other college players nationally.
Iowa State received the ruling Wednesday night.
"Lucca was distraught,'' Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. "It's really a sad deal."
This is the first year the NCAA Amateurism Certification program, used to determine the amateur status of domestic and international freshmen, has been in existence.
Fabian Boeke of Washington State, who played on the same Ehingen club team as Staiger, received the same penalty.
"I really think this will become a national story because this is the first one that involves a team from the Big 12 and the Pac-10, and all of a sudden these two guys aren't going to play," McDermott said. "This is precedent-setting."
Josh Snyder, Iowa State's associate athletics director in charge of compliance, said the university would appeal to the NCAA's Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee as soon as statements from Staiger; his club coach, Ralph Junge; and Iowa State officials are processed.
"I hope they take into account the sacrifices Lucca made so he would have this opportunity, and not hand down the maximum penalty," McDermott said.
Snyder said Staiger, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who was expected to fill an important role on this year's team, completed the online registration form required for certification on May 24. Snyder got involved in the process Aug. 21.
The NCAA didn't interview Junge until Sept. 4.
"The process has been excruciatingly slow," Snyder said.
Staiger attended Urspring Basketball Academy, a boarding school. Ehingen, made up of mostly teenagers who attended Urspring, paid two players to make the team more competitive against older teams in the league.
The NCAA ruled that those two players were compensated more than the minimum allowed, making the entire team professional.
"The thing we're disappointed in is here's a kid who did everything right," McDermott said.
"His dream was to come to the U.S. He had 30 clubs to choose from where he could have played. And he chose this one because he wouldn't jeopardize his eligibility to play in the U.S."