Knock out
Men's basketball team forfeits three due to administration gaffe
February 6, 2008
Joshua Schweitzer
The 2007-2008 Spartans Men’s Basketball season has been one better forgotten than remembered for most, as it has brought disappointment after disappointment. From waiting until the second week of November for their first regular season win, to an overall dismal road record, to the firing of then head coach Stan Peters, the Spartans were dealt yet another tough shot last week. This time, it has proven to be the deathblow.
According to the CIS website, the complication arose when spring semester paper work was being processed at Trinity Western University’s Enrolment Services. Administration discovered that Spartans guard Lucas Goltz, who had transferred to TWU from Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, had not fully satisfied the transfer requirements as are laid out by CIS.
The news came as a surprise to everyone involved. Goltz was under the impression that he had indeed met the necessary requirements to start playing, in which he was to have sat out a full year before joining his new team. However, the problem was that Goltz had not completed enough semester hours at RMC to be eligible to play with the Spartans at TWU. While Goltz was waiting a year to join the Spartans squad, he was not enrolled in any RMC courses. Thus, Goltz was on the floor for the majority of the first half of the season when he was not supposed to be.
TWU contacted the CIS immediately and informed them of the violation. They apologized, and voluntarily asked to have the three victories that they had won with Goltz in the line-up, changed into losses. As of January 28, the Spartans have indeed had their wins over the University of Lethbridge on November 11 (103-88), Thompson Rivers University on November 17 (88-84), and University College of the Fraser Valley on December 1 (81-76), erased from the win column and tallied into the losses. In addition to the new record change, Goltz will be unable to participate with the team for the remainder of the season.
Before this had all transpired, the Spartans still had a chance at making the playoffs; however, with the subtraction of the three fall semester victories, combined with this past weekend’s results, the Spartans record changed from being 6-14 and is now 3-19. In other words, the Spartans have now been officially eliminated from post-season contention. The Spartans’ last match up of the season will be played on home court on Friday, February 8 versus the SFU Clan. The game is set to begin at 8:15 PM.
Now you go...
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