From Associated Press ...
Sunday's scores
EAST
Maine 6, Merrimack 4
MIDWEST
St. Cloud St. 4, Michigan Tech 3
And this on the Maine situation ...
ORONO, Maine (AP) -- Stung by a string of NCAA
violations, the president of he University of Maine is
lashing out
at a former official.
President Frederick Hutchinson criticized former NCAA
compliance officer Linwood "Woody" Carville for allegedly
trying to deflect attention from his own role in eligibility
violations involving five athletes. Carville has accused
Maine's athletic director of planning a coverup.
"There is ample evidence that Woody is looking for
someone else to share the blame," Hutchinson said Sunday.
The athletes were graduate students in their final year
of eligibility, and all were enrolled in six credit hours of
classes, two less than the NCAA's minimum. The disclosure
means five teams, including the defending national
champion hockey team, will probably have to forfeit their
games for the entire season.
Carville, who was fired last week, was quoted in the
Maine Sunday Telegram as saying athletic director Michael
Ploszek initially wanted to cover up the violations. He also
suggested Ploszek may have kept the violations under wraps
if he hadn't pressured the athletic director.
"They all looked for a scapegoat and none of them wanted
to accept any blame," Carville said. "And there's plenty of
blame to go around."
The latest errors were discovered by a graduate student
who worked in Carville's office, according to Carville, who
said he told Ploszek the next day of the problem.
Carville noted that two of the athletes -- hockey player
Patrice Tardif and indoor track team member Allyson Lowell
-- needed to be withdrawn from competition before their next
scheduled events in mid-February.
Carville quoted Ploszek as allegedly saying: "This is
very bad and we've decided we're going to handle it
in-house. We're going to take care of this within our own
group. There's no need to get anybody else involved."
The problems weren't disclosed until Thursday.
Ploszek, who was suspended one week for failing to
immediately notify coaches of the eligibility problems,
denied Carville's assertions. He also denied the
exchanges with Carville.
"I'm outraged. I'm outraged because of the people in the
back of this room," Ploszek said Sunday, referring to
coaches and other members of his staff.
Hutchinson called the news conference on Sunday to answer
Carville's allegations.
Reading a four-page statement, Hutchinson tracked the
chronology of events between the time administrators first
became aware of the eligibility problems on Feb. 16 and the
time they were reported Feb. 24.
Hutchinson also blamed Carville on Sunday for other rules
violations this season.
Two hockey violations, including one that led to a
five-game suspension of coach Shawn Walsh, and a scheduling
error that could cost the women's basketball team a playoff
berth, were partially Carville's fault, Hutchinson said.
"Woody says he's a scapegoat. The fact is he made the
mistake. He made the mistake that likely will cost five
athletes and their teams the victories they earned through
competition this year," he said.
The administrator expressed support for Ploszek, whom he
described as diligent in reporting problems during his 2
1/2-year tenure.
"Despite recent events, I am completely confident that
Mike is capable of leading our athletic department through
these rough times," Hutchinson said.
Excuse the bad justification
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