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Date: | Tue, 10 Sep 1991 17:24:13 GMT |
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Willie Hsiung writes:
>After reading some articles about NCAA eligibility and the Olympics that
>were posted a few months ago, I'm just wondering if NCAA hockey players
>have only four years of eligibility. The reason why I'm asking this was
>while I was looking through the stats of former NMU defenseman Brad Werenka
>this summer, it showed that he already played four seasons for NMU before
>last season, though he only played a few games in his 4th season.
>Is a player allowed to play five years of college hockey?
He may play *in* five years, but not five full years. In Werenka's case,
I believe he was injured very early in the season you mention and then
petitioned the NCAA to be allowed to play one more year. Since a player
has 5 years to play 4, this is usually accepted in these cases. I think
that if a player plays fewer than ~10 games and then his season is cut
short due to injury, he is considered to have a good case - but 10 is
supposed to be the magic number. Maine's Mario Thyer likely would have
gone this route a few years ago when he broke his leg, but he ended up
turning pro rather than finishing his eligibility.
(See Bill Fenwick's mail for more precise info; I wrote this before
seeing his mail.)
As for 5 to play 4, even that is flexible. Merrimack's Frank Schofield
took about 8 years to play 4. He joined the Navy (became a Seal) after
his first year of school, then returned at the age of 23 to complete his
education and was allowed to play during those 3 years, finishing in 1990.
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.
- mike
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