UConn among 10 schools ineligible for basketball postseason

Indianapolis, IN – The University of Connecticut was among 10 men's basketball teams declared ineligible for the NCAA Tournament next season.

The schools that fell below the mandatory 900-level of Academic Progress Rates over a four-year period (2007-08 through 2010-11) were deemed ineligible for the 2012-13 postseason.

The three-time national champions scored 978 out of a possible 1,000 for the 2010-11 academic year, but had a four-year score of 889.

UConn also received a "Level One" penalty, which will limit the team to practice five days a week (as opposed to six) and 16 hours of countable activities per week (as opposed to 20).

"As I have stated before, I hope that the NCAA will continue to consider the timing of the implementation for our postseason ban for 2012-13," said UConn athletics director Warde Manuel. "When the change in legislation for postseason bans was adopted by the NCAA Board in October 2011 and made effective for the 2012-13 academic year, it gave the illusion that institutions had time to adjust to the legislation. Yet the data had already been submitted under a different penalty structure, one that would not have excluded our men's basketball team from participating in the postseason. The approach to APR marks the first time in the history of the NCAA that it has ever implemented an academic rule significantly impacting current student- athletes without allowing the members time to adjust to the adoption of the legislation.

"All of us are disappointed in this potential postseason ban, but this is a time that we need all Husky fans to support our men's basketball team more than they ever have before. We have a championship men's basketball program here at Connecticut and it is going to stay that way."

Other schools ineligible for the 2012-13 men's basketball postseason were Jacksonville State, Mississippi Valley State, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Towson, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, UC Riverside, UNC- Wilmington, and Toledo.

Cal State Bakersfield is also banned from the postseason, pending a review.

"We expect student-athletes to meet their dual responsibilities, and most of them are doing so," NCAA president Mark Emmert said.

The average four-year APR for men's basketball is 950, up five points over last year; football is 948, up two points; and baseball is 965, up six points.

According to the NCAA, through APR, nearly 10,000 former student-athletes have returned to campus and earned their degrees in the past eight years.

Each team in Division I team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility and retention of each scholarship student-athlete. Teams that fall below certain scores can face sanctions, such as scholarship losses and restrictions on practice.

The NCAA said 15 teams will not have access to the postseason this coming year, as opposed to eight the previous year.

"This is not a penalty - it's our expectation," Emmert said. "Just as a team needs a winning record to make the playoffs or the tournament, they need a winning record in the classroom as well."