On Sep 10 1991 at 17:24:13 Mike Machnik wrote:
>
>A friend of mine is trying to be allowed to play 4 in 6 years.  He was
>led to believe that if he made a team, he'd get a scholarship, but none was
>forthcoming.  After 2 years at the school, he could not afford to stay
>even though he was doing well in school & hockey, so he had to leave and
>it took about two years for him to earn some money and complete the
>transfer process to another school.  He will be playing DivI this year;
>next year is a possibility.  I've never heard of anyone claiming financial
>hardship as a reason to be allowed an extra year, but he is trying it, and
>he seems to have a solid case.
>
 
I'd like to hear how this comes out, Mike. Brian Straub, Maine's
lone senior last year was forced out of college hockey even though
he had really only played 3 of his 4 years. The 5 yr rule was
the sticking point. His NCAA career began at UND where he was a
walk-on and was subsequently cut from the team before the season
began. His five year clock started ticking when he started
practicing. (He finished out the season in the juniors while attend-
ing class -- I think that has some impact in the rules as well.)
He was then forced to sit out a year at Maine (NCAA rule on
transfers) before he resumed his career here and played some good
hockey here.
 
Brian was never recruited anywhere (even here at Maine) and that
was, in his opinion, the problem. If a kid doesn't have some sort
of advocate (like a recruiter) who understands the NCAA rules, he
can make a lot of bad decisions that affect his college career.
Unlike your friend, there were no injuries involved in Brian's
case and, unfortunately, no hope that a petition for an extension
would succeed.