UConn has proposed self-imposed penalties in hopes of being allowed to play in the 2013 NCAA tournament, according to an Associated Press report.
Amongst the penalties proposed is reducing the number of games it will play next season. The school is currently barred from the 2013 tournament due to low academic progress rate scores. The reduction would total four games, according to a statement from associate director of athletics, Mike Enright. Under normal NCAA rules, the Huskies would play 27 regular season games and a three-game preseason tournament. Under the proposal, UConn would play 26 total games in the regular season instead of 30. So the Huskies would schedule 23 games and the three-game Paradise Jam.
“We believe that we have made a very compelling case to the NCAA and will be deeply disappointed if our request for a waiver, from the 2013 men’s basketball postseason ban, is denied,” said President Susan Herbst in a statement. “Our team’s academic performance improved tremendously in 2010-11, and in the fall 2011 semester. We developed a new long-term academic plan for our team, and it has already shown positive results.”
UConn would also forfeit Big East profits they would earn for participating in the national tournament as well as preventing coach Jim Calhoun from meeting with recruits off-campus during the fall of 2012. UConn, who applied for a waiver last month from the new rule approved in the fall of 2011 that would bar them from playing in the postseason, hopes the current players aren’t penalized due to APR shortcomings by previous teams.
“It is unfortunate that our current men’s basketball student-athletes could be punished for the problematic academic performance of other students — students who have not been enrolled at UConn for over two years,” Herbst said in the statement. “That decision would be unfair to innocent young people, which is baffling to us. Regulatory bodies should not change rules retroactively. The NCAA should focus on the future, so that people have the chance to work toward positive change. They should not dredge up the past, and then hurt innocent parties of the present..”
“On a personal level, and as an educator, I would be very sorry to see such harsh punishment of the outstanding young men on our current basketball team,” Herbst continued. “I believe that it would be wrong to punish these students, caught in the fallout from a sudden passage of new rules – rules that did not exist when they enrolled at UConn. That would be a fundamental injustice to our team and to our university.”
According to the AP, UConn also said exhibition games would be eliminated from the schedule and all hours that would be spent on the basketball court would be dedicated to school work, including extra study halls, tutor sessions and adviser meetings. The AP also reported that Calhoun and a current or former NBA player would travel to “inner-city” schools for five academic importance sessions.”
“My thanks go out to so many wonderful professionals at UConn who have made great strides in our academic approach over the past few years, as well as to our students, whom we treasure, along with our dedicated faculty and coaches. And I cannot think of many people in this world who have improved the lives of young men more profoundly than Jim Calhoun, our Hall of Fame coach, and highly-valued member of this university community.”