Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

Post Reply 
UW back learns he's ineligible
Author Message
Bookmark and Share
IU_lauren3
Unregistered

 
Post: #1
 
Foul-up costs Bickerstaff a final year of football
By JEFF POTRYKUS
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: July 16, 2002
Madison - University of Wisconsin senior Erik Bickerstaff, expected to play fullback and tailback in the fall, has exhausted his eligibility and cannot compete for any NCAA school, thanks in part to a failure by UW officials to adequately monitor his academic progress.

Badgers


Photo/File
Fullback Erik Bickerstaff won't in in a Badger uniform in the fall.



UW officials announced Tuesday that Bickerstaff, a former standout at Waukesha North High School who wowed the Wisconsin coaches during spring practice, was no longer eligible to play for UW.

Bickerstaff was a partial qualifier when he came to UW as a walk-on in 1998, which meant he lost his first year of eligibility and had only three years of eligibility left. According to NCAA rules, Bickerstaff could have regained the lost year by obtaining his degree within four years of enrolling. However, Bickerstaff is on pace to graduate in 41/2 years and UW officials only recently realized his predicament.

"He was lost in the shuffle," said Jerry Darda, an academic adviser who works closely with the football team. "He personally wasn't aware of that he had to graduate in four years. . . . For some reason we forgot he was a partial qualifier.

"If anybody is responsible, it is probably me."

Coach Barry Alvarez was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

In a statement released by the school, Alvarez said: "I feel badly for Erik because he worked very hard to earn that lost year back. He was one of our best players in the spring and we were counting on him in the fall."

According to Tim Bald, UW's director of compliance, the football staff received a participation report this spring that showed Bickerstaff had competed for three years and thus had no eligibility left.

"Our report would have said: 'Seasons of eligibility used - three. Seasons of eligibility remaining - zero,' " Bald said.

The loss of Bickerstaff (6 feet and 229 pounds) presents another obstacle for Wisconsin's offense, which probably will have to make due without wide receiver Lee Evans (knee) for at least the first five games of the season.

Bickerstaff excelled at both fullback and tailback during spring practice and was so impressive that the staff decided it wouldn't need help from any of the incoming freshman running backs.

The loss of Bickerstaff means offensive coordinator Brian White must find a No. 3 tailback behind starter Anthony Davis and backup Jerone Pettus and a fullback to complement senior Russ Kuhns and redshirt freshman Matt Bernstein.

Wisconsin signed five running backs in February, including Booker Stanley of Whitefish Bay High School.
07-19-2002 03:50 PM
Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


CougarReggie
Unregistered

 
Post: #2
 
this is not so good news for the badgers..
07-28-2002 06:35 PM
Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.