ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii's Milos Zivanovic, shown here guarding Rice's Jason McKreith in Saturday's loss, will get more playing time in this week's WAC games due to Haim Shimonovich's absence. UH hosts Boise State and UTEP in its final homestand.
Bulldogs banned A day after the Fresno State administration imposed a ban on the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament for its basketball team, the Western Athletic Conference announced that the Bulldogs will not be allowed to play in next week's conference tournament in Tulsa, Okla.
from WAC tourney
Fresno State won't play in
'Bows up against Broncos
the postseason, leaving nine
teams to compete for the
league championshipBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comFresno State president John D. Welty announced the ban on Monday based on the findings of an investigation into academic fraud involving three former Bulldog players.
The WAC regular-season champion Bulldogs hoped they would be allowed to participate in the WAC tournament set for March 11-15. But the WAC's Board of Directors adopted a resolution in a conference call yesterday that prohibits a school from participating in a conference tournament if it is also ineligible for NCAA postseason play.
"The board of directors looked at what was in the best interest of the other nine teams," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. "They decided without Fresno State in the tournament, the nine teams had a fairer opportunity to play their way into the NCAA Tournament."
Welty's announcement on Monday raised questions about Fresno State's participation in the WAC tournament, where the Bulldogs would have been the top seed. The tournament champion earns a berth into the NCAA Tournament. If Fresno State had been allowed to play and won the tournament, the second-place team in the regular season would likely have been granted the league's automatic berth.
"I feel sorry for the kids that worked so hard and deserved the championship they got," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "They'll get their rings and they are champions. But as far as a tournament goes, this is better because you'll have a champion rather than a second- place (team)."
The resolution states "that any member institution, for any reason whatsoever, is ineligible, in any sport, to advance to NCAA postseason play in that same sport, shall be ineligible to participate in the Western Athletic Conference tournament or championship in that same sport."
Hawaii was represented on the board by Karl Kim, the UH-Manoa interim vice chancellor for academic affairs. UH-Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert is away on business and was not able to participate in the teleconference.
UH spokesman Jim Manke, speaking on behalf of Kim, said the administrators involved in the teleconference agreed they would not comment publicly about the discussion.
The WAC's ruling means Hawaii will get a reprieve from having to play in the preliminary round of the tournament on March 11. The Rainbows are seventh in the standings and were facing the possibility of playing in one of the two play-in games scheduled for the tournament's opening day.
With Fresno State's elimination, the teams below move up a spot and only one play-in game is necessary. San Jose State and UTEP, both 3-13 in conference play, are locked into the play-in game. Hawaii (15-10, 7-9) will begin its run for a third consecutive tournament title in the quarterfinals on March 13.
Boise State, Hawaii's opponent tomorrow, was also slated for a play-in game, but will get a pass into the quarterfinals.
Three teams are now tied for the top seed in the tournament, as Rice, Tulsa and Nevada are deadlocked at 10-6. Southern Methodist is a half-game back at 10-7.
Fresno State (20-6, 13-3) is scheduled to play at Tulsa today and closes the season Saturday at Rice.
The Bulldogs were considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament if they failed to win the WAC title. Benson, a member of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, said the Bulldogs' exit means the WAC will likely get just one berth into the tournament. The WAC sent two teams, Hawaii and Tulsa, last year.
"We should expect only the tournament champion will go to the NCAA Tournament," Benson said.
The only comparable incident in the history of the WAC tournament came in 1996 when UTEP defeated Hawaii in the preliminary round, but forfeited the game when it was found the Miners had used an ineligible player.
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