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