CASE: Player Left Off Eligibility Sheet

June, 2006 - Commissioner's Casebook

(O.C. Art I, Sec 5, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5)
A team had dressed, but not played, an ineligible player in a men’s soccer match.  The opposing team protested the match on the basis the player was, technically, ineligible. 

Ruling: 

Although the player met all eligibility requirements, his name was inadvertently left off of the eligibility forms filed at the ACAC office.  The commissioner upheld the college’s protest.  A warning and a fine of $100 was issued to the offending college.  The commissioner was not prepared to rule a forfeit of the match because the player, although dressed, did not actually participate in the match, and his presence did not influence the outcome.  The student was in all other respects eligible to participate, but it was simply a clerical error that made him ineligible.  Lastly, the ineligibility of the player was self reported by the college, which the ACAC relies on such goodwill. 
(2005-06, Phipps)