Brutal ruling by the NCAA on ISU player........

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This kid never received a dime before college and violate no rules, but because he played on a team where two kids received money, the team is ruled to be a professional team and he loses a year of eligibility.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...95/1003/SPORTS

New NCAA group rules ISU freshman ineligible
BY RICK BROWN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

October 26, 2007

Iowa State freshman guard Lucca Staiger has been declared ineligible by the NCAA pending an appeal, university officials confirmed Thursday.

The NCAA ruled that the club team Staiger played for in Germany for three seasons was professional because of the amount of compensation two of his teammates received - even though the German government considered it a non-profit, non-professional team.

Staiger, who is from Baulstein, Germany, was given the maximum penalty - the loss of one season of eligibility - under a first-year NCAA program that could affect other college players nationally.

Iowa State received the ruling Wednesday night.

"Lucca was distraught,'' Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. "It's really a sad deal."

This is the first year the NCAA Amateurism Certification program, used to determine the amateur status of domestic and international freshmen, has been in existence.

Fabian Boeke of Washington State, who played on the same Ehingen club team as Staiger, received the same penalty.

"I really think this will become a national story because this is the first one that involves a team from the Big 12 and the Pac-10, and all of a sudden these two guys aren't going to play," McDermott said. "This is precedent-setting."

Josh Snyder, Iowa State's associate athletics director in charge of compliance, said the university would appeal to the NCAA's Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee as soon as statements from Staiger; his club coach, Ralph Junge; and Iowa State officials are processed.

"I hope they take into account the sacrifices Lucca made so he would have this opportunity, and not hand down the maximum penalty," McDermott said.

Snyder said Staiger, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who was expected to fill an important role on this year's team, completed the online registration form required for certification on May 24. Snyder got involved in the process Aug. 21.

The NCAA didn't interview Junge until Sept. 4.

"The process has been excruciatingly slow," Snyder said.

Staiger attended Urspring Basketball Academy, a boarding school. Ehingen, made up of mostly teenagers who attended Urspring, paid two players to make the team more competitive against older teams in the league.

The NCAA ruled that those two players were compensated more than the minimum allowed, making the entire team professional.

"The thing we're disappointed in is here's a kid who did everything right," McDermott said.

"His dream was to come to the U.S. He had 30 clubs to choose from where he could have played. And he chose this one because he wouldn't jeopardize his eligibility to play in the U.S."

[Toddzilla]

The NCAA, in a word, absolutely f'ing sucks.

[albionmoonlight]

As more and more players come from overseas, this thing will be harder and harder to police.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

The NCAA, in a word, absolutely f'ing sucks.

Couldn't have said it better.

[molson]

He obviously didn't know he was breaking a rule, and this rule needs to be much narrower, but it'd be a pretty big loophole to allow kids to play on foreign semi-pro teams where SOME players are paid, in order to boost their recuriting status in the states.

If not enforced, you'd see teams spring up all over Europe for just this purpose, looking to take advantage of high school students.

[14ers]

Does this ruling make all Olympic athletes Pro?


Since some countries reward their athlets with money and prizes if they win medals, it seems that everyone competing with or against these athletes would then be Pros themselves based on this ruling by the NCAA.

[molson]

Originally Posted by 14ers

Does this ruling make all Olympic athletes Pro?

Olympic athletes have been pro for a LONG time.

Edit - I missed your point at first glance. Good question - I wonder if there's an exception for olympic competition.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by molson

He obviously didn't know he was breaking a rule, and this rule needs to be much narrower, but it'd be a pretty big loophole to allow kids to play on foreign semi-pro teams where SOME players are paid, in order to boost their recuriting status in the states.

If not enforced, you'd see teams spring up all over Europe for just this purpose, looking to take advantage of high school students.

How is this any different than a high school kid playing in a PGA tour event? They're playing in a competition with mostly pros. They retain their amateur status by refusing any prize money based on their finish and are still allowed to play golf in college by the NCAA.

The kid played with pros but did not receive any compensation. As far as I'm concerned, he should be eligible.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

How is this any different than a high school kid playing in a PGA tour event? They're playing in a competition with mostly pros. They retain their amateur status by refusing any prize money based on their finish and are still allowed to play golf in college by the NCAA.

The kid played with pros but did not receive any compensation. As far as I'm concerned, he should be eligible.

For a kid from Germany, it's no different. What I'd be concerned about is hoards of American high school kids not liking the attention they're getting from recruiters and then going to Europe to play on semi-pro teams hoping that'll get them into Duke. (and where they'd either be paid under the table or be subject to poverty conditions in a strange country).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by molson

For a kid from Germany, it's no different. What I'd be concerned about is hoards of American high school kids not liking the attention they're getting from recruiters and then going to Europe to play on semi-pro teams hoping that'll get them into Duke. (and where they'd either be paid under the table or be subject to poverty conditions in a strange country).

Aren't American players doing exactly that on AAU teams in the U.S.? There's money being moved around and the big AAU coaches are receiving a lot of money for it.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

The NCAA, in a word, absolutely f'ing sucks.

+1

[Coder]

Where's the line drawn? Most professional clubs in Europe have youth-teams, the players aren't paid until they're on the pro-rosters, but they're still part of an organization that pays team-members.

Furthermore, at what level was this? In Sweden, for example, we have a similar structure to the English Football (soccer) league for most sports. First we have a Premier League (professional), then we have a "Division 1", which is mostly semi-professional, i.e. players get paid but they usually have a "real" job on the side (this depends on the sport, soccer and ice hockey have all pro Division Ones). Then as soon as we get into Division 2, most players are in fact playing for fun, maybe a select few are getting some more compensation to entice them to stay on (this varies from team to team). Maybe they have a sponsor for equipment and get gas money etc, but they're not getting a salary from the team. Once again, this obviously depends on the sport, but I have friends playing division 2 hockey without getting any payment, only equipment.

Finally, we all know the NCAA-rules are quite hypocritical with all the money going around. I mean, coaches getting paid ludicrious amounts and schools getting loads of dollars in TV-revenue, but players can't even get a bus-card without being ruled ineligble to play.

When I went to college in the US, all of the guys on the golf-team played skins-games at the local golf club, winning money "playing their sport". Is that a breach of the rules?

[Crapshoot]

The NCAA is a vile, disgusting organization that makes money (football and basketball here) of the backs of "students". Someday, the sheer corruption of the college football or college basketball edifice crumbles and we no longer have coaches making $4 million while players aren't allowed to earn a single frigging penny.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

The NCAA is a vile, disgusting organization that makes money (football and basketball here) of the backs of "students". Someday, the sheer corruption of the college football or college basketball edifice crumbles and we no longer have coaches making $4 million while players aren't allowed to earn a single frigging penny.

+1

[MrBug708]

Happened to UCLA with a player last year from Europe