UA football’s APR penalty reduced to three scholarships
by John Moredich on Apr. 06, 2006, under SpecialThe University of Arizona football team will lose three, not four scholarships, after winning an appeal yesterday from the NCAA over the Academic Progress Report.
The Wildcats originally were penalized four scholarships last month after scoring an 882 – below the minimum score of 925 – on the APR, the NCAA’s new measuring stick to make certain schools are maintaining high graduation standards.
UA won the appeal on an individual basis yesterday, which grants the school one scholarship back, according to Kathleen “Rocky” LaRose, UA’s senior associate athletic director.
“We are excited about this news,” she said. “Certainly there are still things we can and will do better in the future, but this has been a learning situation for all of us.’
UA made a general appeal in March on the four scholarships based on the program’s instability over a five-year period. That appeal was rejected.
UA then went a step further in one player’s case and that appeal was granted. Because of student privacy rights the school is not permitted to give the player’s name or situation.
“The good news is the NCAA took everything we prepared and realized the individual’s situation was out of the school’s control and the individual’s control,” LaRose said.
UA will eliminate one scholarship immediately because it did not use its limit in the 2006 recruiting class. The Wildcats signed 22 of a possible 25 players in February, but they are holding two scholarships for junior college transfers Louis Holmes and Gabe Long, who are expected to enroll in August.
If anybody fails to register for classes from this year’s recruiting class, the school can use the open scholarships to fulfill its penalty. If not, the penalty will be assessed in the 2007 signing class.
All current Wildcats keep their scholarships.
