University of Maine Athletic Director Michael Ploszek says UMaine freshman defenseman Jeff Tory is eligible to play for the Black Bears. The NCAA, however, says Tory is not eligible. As a result, the defending national champion may have to forfeit both games of its season-opening series against Providence College, which Tory played in. After dropping its second game in a row at the hands of North- eastern University, Maine may see its 7-3 record slip to 5-5. Wednesday the NCAA's Academic Requirements Committee ruled that Tory, who attended high school in British Columbia, Canada, failed to achieve a 2.0 in high school. In high school, Tory took some some pass/fail courses. At issue is what his pass marks should be on a 4.0 scale. Many universities and colleges calculate a pass mark as a C-. Because the NCAA doesn't recognize pluses or minuses on trans- cripts, Maine claims Tory is eligible because a C puts him over the 2.0 threshold. In an opinion column in Friday's Bangor Daily News, it is written by sports writer Mike Dowd that Tory's high school's grading scale for a C- is 50-59 percent. The NCAA, Dowd writes, requires a minimum average of 60 percent for a C-. Woody Carville, Maine's academic compliance coordinator, claims Penticton High School's grading scale is irrelevant as far as the NCAA rules are concerned because Tory graduated with at least a 2.0. "In the section for Canada and British Columbia, it says a stu- dent is eligible if he or she obtained one of the following: a 2.0 or 60 percent," Carville told the BDN. The interpretation of Tory's grades was brought to Maine's att- ention by Alaska-Fairbanks, which had recruited Tory when he was in high school. When Alaska-Fairbanks came across Tory's pass/ fail marks, it asked the NCAA what the marks would be interpreted as. The answer, according to The Maine Campus, was the marks would be interpreted as D's. Northern Michigan, which also recruited Tory, asked the NCAA for an interpretation of the pass marks, too. The answer was the same: Tory is ineligible. Alaska-Fairbanks and Northern Michigan stopped recruiting Tory when their questions were answered. Ploszek says the NCAA has changed the rules in midstream. The Maine Campus reports Ploszek contacted the NCAA and the Penticton school board for an interpretation of the passes and was told they would be interpreted as C's. After becoming aware of a possible violation, Maine asked the Hockey East office to examine the situation. The Hockey East office found nothing wrong with Maine's interpretation of Tory's pass marks. Maine is appealing the decision. If the appeal is denied, Tory will have to sit out the season because of Proposition 48, which requires an incoming freshman to have a minimum SAT score of 700 and a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in core curriculum courses. ------------ Information taken from Dec. 3 editions of The Maine Campus and the Bangor Daily News. Ryan Robbins Stodder Hall University of Maine [log in to unmask]