An article in this morning's _Cornell Daily Sun_ states that the NC$$ has
announced a partial resolution of the situation involving the Cornell men's
hockey team and the booster housing.  The NC$$ has restored the players'
eligibility, which apparently was lost when the violation was reported.  The
Sun article is copied below:
 
-- begin quoted material
 
NCAA Restores Eligibility to Men's Hockey Players
by Spencer Patterson
 
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has restored the
eligibility of all members of the Cornell men's ice hockey team after
reviewing a self-reported possible NCAA rules violation, according to
Athletic Director Laing Kennedy '63.
 
But possible sanctions against the University may still be forthcoming,
Kennedy said.
 
"The other part of this may take months," he said.  "The enforcement staff
needs to determine if there will be any institutional punishments.  [These
possible punishments] continue to be a concern but will not be a factor
concerning our hockey program."
 
Kennedy reported the potential impropriety -- the long-standing Cornell
tradition of allowing players to live with "host families" -- early last
May.  The hosting program, which provided players with the opportunity to
live with a family instead of in a dorm, has since been discontinued.
 
As soon as the University reported itself to the NCAA, the players instantly
became ineligible, according to Kennedy.
 
                              Minimal Repayment
 
Their eligibility will be restored upon repayment for the benefits received,
including rides to campus, meals, television use, and holiday gifts.
 
Each player who lived with a host family last season will be asked to
contribute up to $80 to the charity of his choice.
 
"I think it's a reasonable request by the NCAA," said captain Shaun Hannah
'94.
 
Right wing Tyler McManus '95, one of the players involved, said he and his
teammates are considering joining together to donate the money to a single
charity, possibly Ithaca Youth Hockey.
 
Kennedy said that he was pleased with this first half of the NCAA's report.
 
"I feel very positive about it," Kennedy said.  The general reaction of the
players was also very positive.
 
"My priority has been to have the student athletes held blameless," he
added.  "They were innocent participants in the program, they did nothing
wrong."
 
Head coach Brian McCutcheon '71 and his players were also satisfied with the
NCAA's decision.
 
"We're pleased that it's behind us and we can focus on the season at hand,"
McCutcheon said.
 
"We all thought it was fair," McManus said.  "We're very happy about it."
 
                             Three-Step Process
 
Over the summer, Prof. Robert Hillman, associate dean of the Cornell Law
School, conducted an in-house investigation of the possible impropriety.
 
Upon completion, Hillman passed his findings on to the Ivy League office,
which in turn investigated the situation on its own before turning it over
to the NCAA rules committee.
 
According to Kennedy, Cornell worked closely with the NCAA in order to
expediate [sic] the process.
 
-- end quoted material
 
This isn't the last word on the situation by any means, but I'm glad the
NC$$ has so far decided not to come down hard on the players.  As Kennedy
mentioned, this wasn't their fault; it came about because the interpretation
of a rule changed, and the interpretations are even more obscure than the
rules themselves.  As for paying "up to" eighty bucks to charity, that's an
interesting idea, and one I've never heard of from the NC$$.
 
My only gripe so far is that with the consideration of as serious a question
as the eligibility of all or a good portion of the hockey team, it took the
NC$$ an awful long time to come up with a ruling.  The team's first game is
a week from tomorrow, and I know the NC$$ was asking for more data on the
whole situation as late as two weeks ago.  A minor point, I suppose, con-
sidering the outcome.
--
Bill Fenwick                        |  Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94        |  [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
"This is a really sexy thing to do, according to the French, although you
 should keep in mind that these people also like to eat snails."
-- Dave Barry, on French kissing