Issue 22 - Island Waves - Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

PAGE 8 SPORTS / SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
a little
Something
Lauren Gutierrez sports editor
Islander Men’s Basketball program
moves forward after post season ban
Not a perfect game, but
I’ll take it. The Cowboys
defeated the Giants last
Wednesday night for their
first game of the season,
24 to 17. I couldn’t rush
home fast enough after
a long day at the dance
studio to catch the start of
the third quarter, and to
both my delight and surprise,
to see we were up
by 11 points. It was definitely
a step up from last
season’s heart breaking
loss by the Cowboys that
sent the New York Giants
to the championships and
gave them their NFC East
title. Never-the-less, it felt
good seeing Eli Manning
frustrated after being
sacked three times.
Along with their win,
a big surprise out of the
Cowboys was Kevin Olgetree
who scored two
touchdowns and gained
114 yards worth of catches.
I could imagine all
of the Fantasy Football
players quick to try to
add him since his fantasy
points went up to 23.4 for
the week. It was a truly
a great end to the Giants’
reign of championship.
The surprises kept
on coming with the Cowboys’
defense. After signing
on Rob Ryan last year
to replace Wade Phillips
as defensive coordinator,
I was severely disappointed
with him. It’s easy to be
let down when you hear
such good things about a
defensive coordinator, the
kind of skill that the Cowboys
needed, and then it
doesn’t coming through.
I knew we wouldn’t have
a chance this season without
some major change by
our secondary. However,
he really stepped up for
Wednesdays night’s game
in which the Cowboys
looked like a totally new
defense. Three sacks, two
from Demarcus Ware, in
an away game is something
to get excited about
with this team.
The Cowboy’s strong
playing defense kick
started their offense and
allowed for three touchdowns,
two by Olgetree
and one from Miles Austin.
Mistakes throughout
the game were inevitable
since the Cowboys were
at one point the most penalized
team. Never the
less, the scores said 24 to
17 accompanied by the
word “Final”. Even though
it was the first game of the
season, the win was important
for the Cowboys.
They are the kind of team
who falls apart when the
going gets rough, but,
hopefully, with the loss
of players and coaches,
the culture can change.
The message was clear:
the defeat of the Giants
means the Cowboys have
shaken off last year’s bad
season to gear up towards
this year.
Defeating the Giants
on their home turf is not
an easy thing, and the
Cowboys did it after losing
their center. It was a
surprising win but never-the-less
a win for the
Cowboys, that will hopefully
boost their confidence
when they take on
the Seattle Seahawks for
their next game on Sept.
16. Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m.
“Islanders are prepared to achieve excellence through integrity
and respect, devotion to team above self and loyalty to the
Island University.”
Lauren Gutierrez
sports editor
After receiving a post-season
ban from the National
Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) for not meeting
the academic requirements
in 2011, the Texas A&M
University-Corpus Christi
men’s basketball program
starts the season with plans
for change.
In November 2011, the
news was released that the
Islanders were barred from
their post season because
they did not meet the NCAA
academic performance requirement
based on a fouryear
point average. The
NCAA had issued a new rule
based on a complex point
system that determines an
athlete’s academic eligibility.
The post-season penalty
was unexpected since the
NCAA had informed the Associate
Athletic Director for
Compliance and Administration,
Jason Hall, that the
new enforced rule would
not affect them. “We were
told that we would escape
the penalty because our low
score came before the new
legislation was put in place,”
Hall said. “However in November,
they told me that
the penalty would affect us
and would cost us our postseason.”
Hall, along with Athletic
Director Scott Lazenby
were disappointed with
the NCAA’s “my bad,” that
cost them their chance for
a conference championship.
The department knew
the penalty for low scores
at the time which meant
the loss of scholarship, not
barred from competing in
the Southland Conference
tournament.
“We took all the necessary
action for the two bad
years we had, by recruiting
with only one scholarship,”
Lazenby said. “You could
only imagine our reaction
after being told by the NCAA
about their new penalty
structure that wasn’t going
to punish us, punished us.”
Lazenby’s disappointment
also came from the
fact that the students of the
university along with program
were also wronged.
“We met with our boosters
privately to explain what
happened, and they were furious
but very supportive,”
Lazenby said. “I understand
the NCAA standards especially
when it comes to academics;
however I felt that
they didn’t even take into
account the reality of the situation.
Our low points came
a year prior to the newly
formatted structure.”
The NCAA did not
grandfather in the new rule
which allowed ground for
appealing. In February of
2012, Hall sent an appeal to
the NCAA staff which was
denied. After being denied
two more appeals to both
the subcommittees and the
chair for the Committee on
Academic performance, the
program made the decision
to accept the unfair penalty
and move on with their season.
“We can still win the
regular season,” Lazenby
said. “Through all of the
mess, we still have amazing
athletes who made the decision
to stay and prove that
they are a good basketball
team.”
Head Coach Willis Wilson
continues to move forward
with his team with
hopes of a major culture
change.
“You never anticipate
for this sort of thing to happen
at this level,” Wilson
said. “Now that it has happened
we can only do everything
we can do (to) make
sure this will never happen
again.”
Wilson proposes that
the department needs a
change in attitude, philosophy
and overall standard.
“Our basketball program
is very young, and unlike
other top major schools,
we do not yet have a long
legacy that we can lean on,”
Wilson said. “So with that,
we are on the path to build
one, and, in doing so, we
need to have quality in our
depth.”
The men’s team will
continue on, putting this
speed bump behind them.
“We have some amazing
players this season with
amazing potential but on
and off the court,” Wilson
said. “Something like this
really dampens a school’s
repetition and future, but
this level of magnitude from
the NCAA set us in place for
all the change that needs to
come from both the players
and coaches,” Wilson said.
The department offers
different academic programs
for the athletes that
will benefit both their academic
and life skills.
“This change will prevent
something like this
from ever happening again,”
Wilson said. “And (it will)
lead us to a strong legacy.”
ISLANDER ATHLETICS - PHOTO COURTESY