The Eagle Eye

Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: News

Coach John Wilson Jr. works at his desk during his suspension which kept him out of the building during games against Edinboro and IUP.

Due to a suspension resulting from a NCAA eligibility violation last January the men's basketball team competed without their head coach, John Wilson Jr., in two PSAC West games.
Wilson was absent from the bench at home on Saturday against Edinboro University and again Wednesday against Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Taking over the head coach duties during the two game suspension was assistant coach, John Wilson Sr.
The violation occurred during the 2007-2008 season when Justin Wilson played even though he was academically ineligible.
Justin was ineligible to play because he was not compliant with the NCAA's 75 25 rule, which according to Wilson requires a student athlete to take 75 percent of their necessary 24 annual credits during the fall and spring semesters. This limits a student to six summer credits if they take the minimum 12 credits per semester.
Typically, the rule is applied to the prior academic year. In Justin's case, he was not enrolled at Lock Haven during the fall of 2005, so the rule was applied to his entire academic career.
Wilson admits he was not aware that the 75 25 rule was applied when an athlete's entire academic record was taken into consideration.
Sharon Taylor, director of athletics, handles most of the NCAA regulation enforcement, but eligibility issues are first analyzed by Efrian Cirilo, the assistant registrar, who serves as LHU's compliance coordinator.
Cirilo monitors initial and continuing eligibility which covers recruits and enrolled student athletes. He considers students grades and eligibility and submits a squad list to Taylor who forwards those lists to the coaches.
According to Taylor who declined to comment specifically on Wilson's case, when a violation occurs, she and Cirilo discuss the matter and the incident is investigated.
The process includes talking to the student and coach involved in the violation and the player signs off on the report before it is sent to the NCAA for review, according to Taylor.
Wilson contested this claim. "The only discussion we had was the process of reinstatement," Wilson said referencing a conversation between Justin, Taylor and himself. Justin is currently unable to play college basketball until he is reinstated.

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