Eligibility: SAIT Basketball-Kamba |
(
Eligibility Ruling
) |
2019-20 SeasonSeptember 29, 2019
Facts: Camille Kamba spent the Fall semester of the 2018-19 academic year regaining his academic eligibility. During that semester he earned 15 credits. He then rejoined the SAIT Men’s Basketball team for the Winter semester. During that semester he earned only 6 credits. SAIT seeks a ruling that Mr. Kamba is eligible to compete during the Fall of 2019. Ruling: Article I Section 5 Rule 1.1.4.4 of the ACAC Operating Code reads as follows: 1.1.4.4. One Semester Participation (Amended August, 2013) A studentâathlete who begins play for an ACAC team in September (and only participates for one semester), must pass a minimum of either: A student athlete, who starts participating for the first time in an academic year in January, must pass 9 credits in that semester of participation or 18 credits before the start of the next academic year. Academic eligibility for a one semester participant is assessed at the conclusion of the academic year August 31st. If the student athlete fails to earn the 18 credits over the academic year or 9 credits in the semester of participation, the Reinstatement Rule is applied on August 31st and participation in the subsequent fall semester is denied. In this case, Mr. Kamba did not earn 9 credits during his semester of participation, as required by Rule 1.1.4.4. SAIT suggests that the 15 credits Mr. Kamba earned during the Fall semester should be able to be used in conjunction with the 6 credits he earned during the Winter semester such that the 21 credits earned during the entirety of the 2018-19 academic year is sufficient to satisfy the 18 credits required by the rule. I am afraid that I must disagree with SAIT’s interpretation of Rule 1.1.4.4. While the wording of the rule does not specifically contradict SAIT’s interpretation, credits earned while an athlete is regaining academic eligibility cannot be used to satisfy the 18 credit requirement in Rule 1.1.4.4. It is an implicit eligibility principle that a student-athlete must be able to balance athletics and academics during their period of participation. This principle is reflected in the requirement in Rule 1.1.4.4 that a student-athlete earn 9 credit hours during their semester of participation. If this does not occur, the rule then requires a student-athlete to supplement those credits to a minimum of 18 credits by August 31st provided that the supplemental credits are earned after the semester of participation. Allowing student-athletes to utilize credits earned prior to regaining academic eligibility is inconsistent with the principle of requiring student-athletes to properly balance athletics and academics. For the reasons outlined above, SAIT’s request is denied. Mr. Kamba must regain his eligibility during the Fall 2019 semester pursuant to the provisions contained in the ACAC Operating Code. Sincerely, Bill Hendsbee |
|