John Grover writes:
 >How is NCAA eligibility affected if a player participates on the
 >Olympic team? If this is the last year of a players NCAA eligibility,
 >does it mean he will not be able to come back next year and play another
 >college season? I know there is a possibility a player can finish the
 >olympics and still play a few games with his team, but can
 >he somehow choose to save his last year?
 
 NCAA eligibility is not affected by participation in the Olympics as long
 as the player participates in NO games AFTER he gets back from the Olympics.
 It does not matter how many years of eligibility are left, they all remain
 intact. Should the player decide to return to school.
 
 For example in 1988 Dave Snuggerud, and Tom Chorske made the Olympic team.
 For that year, they played with the Team USA. Dave Snuggerud had two
 seasons of eligibility left when he returned to the Gophers in the fall of
 1988.  He played with the Gophers for that year and then gave up his final
 year of eligibility to turn pro.
 
 If he had returned to the Gopher line-up in late February after
 participating in the Olympics and played even ONE game...he would have had
 to forfeit that whole year of eligibility.
 
 I want to mention that these were the rules in effect the last go-round and
 may have changed.  So if the info is not 100% correct, please forgive me!
 Perhaps someone has the exact rules to quote for us?
 
 Carol
 U of M
 GO Gophers!!!