Administrative Eligibility - CUCA - Sasha Warmington
( Eligibility Ruling )

2011-12 Season

October 26, 2011

Facts:

Sasha Warmington plays for the CUCA Women’s Basketball team. She attended a college other than CUCA during the 2010-11 season. She participated in one non-conference and two conference games for CUCA this season before her Universal Transfer Form (UTF) was properly filed with the ACAC Office. In the case of the two conference games, which took place on October 21 and 22, the UTF was filed with the ACAC Office on October 21, which fell after the 2:00 pm October 20 deadline, meaning that she was ineligible for both weekend games.

Ruling:

Article I Section 5 Rule 1.5.4 of the Operating Code reads, in part, as follows:

All transferring student-athletes will be identified to the ACAC Office and will not be eligible to participate in ACAC competitions, including non-conference play, until his/her transfer status has been determined in accordance with this section.

Rule 1.5.4 requires the filing of a Universal Transfer Form.

Article I, Section 5, Rule 10.2 was revised at a recent ACAC Council meeting. It is now worded as follows:

10.2        Administrative Ineligibility
Where it has been determined that a member institution is in violation of the rules of eligibility by virtue of an administrative error that renders ineligible a student-athlete who would otherwise have been eligible, the Commissioner shall issue a fine of $500 for the first occurrence, with the fine increasing by $500 for each subsequent occurrence within the same academic year (e.g. $1,000 for a second occurrence and $1,500 for a third occurrence, etc.).

The revised wording above is retroactive to September 1, 2011.

If the UTF had been completed and filed on time, Ms.Warmington would have been eligible to compete in the three games in question. Her situation falls squarely within Rule 10.2. Accordingly, she was ineligible for all games in which she participated.

Rule 10.2 calls for a $500 fine for a first occurrence, with a $500 increase for each subsequent occurrence. Therefore, CUCA is hereby fined $500, payable forthwith to the ACAC Office.

Sincerely,

Bill Hendsbee
ACAC Commissioner