HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i Athletic Department received notice from the NCAA regarding the self-reported use of an ineligible player on the 2002 men's volleyball team, Athletics Director Herman Frazier announced today.
The decision, made public by the NCAA earlier today, mandates the University to surrender the 2002 NCAA men's volleyball national championship title and trophy, the team's place in the final standings, and delete the record of the team's performance in the championship. The school will also be fined $5,000 for the secondary infraction.
The ineligible student-athlete is also required to return all individual awards received during the 2002 season to the NCAA.
"Obviously, we are disappointed with the news," Frazier said. "But we intend to exercise our right to an appeal and pursue this until the end. We are working closely with general counsel on submitting an appeal with the full NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions. It should be made clear that the NCAA classified this as a secondary which means they acknowledged the fact that no one involved, including our coaches and staff, could have known about this ahead of time."
The NCAA classified the infraction, centered around the student-athlete's participation on a professional volleyball team before enrolling at UH, as a secondary offense and did not hold the University nor its representatives responsible since it was concluded that it did not know and could not have known about the infraction until the investigation was complete in June.
UH President Evan Dobelle offered his support during the appeal process.
"I am in full support of Herman and the process involved to appeal this decision," Dobelle said. "We hope the NCAA committee will reconsider their decision."
Warrior volleyball head coach Mike Wilton said he is disappointed with the decision, but won't rest until the final decision is in.
"I feel very strongly that the players and coaches on this team deserve reconsideration by the NCAA," Wilton said. "We certainly hope the appeal process will result in our favor but understand the decisions made by the NCAA are fair and final."
The University received notice from the NCAA of the possible infraction on May 7, 2003 and immediately conducted an extensive internal investigation, which revealed evidence of an infraction regarding the eligibility of a men's volleyball student-athlete. The University forwarded the report to the NCAA on July 9, 2003.
The Warrior volleyball team was notified of the decision earlier this morning. Former Warrior outside hitter Tony Ching, member of the 2002 national championship team, spoke on behalf of his teammates.
"We are all very disappointed about the NCAA's decision," Ching said after the morning team meeting. "All the players and coaches worked very hard to win the national title. It's what you work for and what you strive for as a student-athlete. The team is full of emotion right now and it's very hard to describe what we are feeling. But as coach said, this is not over and we will hang in there through the appeal and hope for the best. It's something that is out of our control. Our teammate in question is still our teammate and we still love him. The experiences we enjoyed and the friendships we made along the way are most important to us. The members of the men's volleyball program at UH will stick together on this as it always has in any other difficult situation."
The 2002 men's volleyball team won the NCAA Division I National Championship, the first for a men's sport at UH, by defeating Pepperdine in four sets (29-31, 31-29, 30-21, 30-27) on May 4, 2002, in State College, Penn. The team finished with an overall record of 24-8, 17-5 and in second place of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Wilton was named AVCA National Coach of the Year, while two Warriors earned first team All-America honors and five were named to all-MPSF teams.
The University has 30 days after the receipt of the notice to submit the appeal.
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