[ BYUH VOLLEYBALL ]
Oliveira explains
BYUH forfeitureThe Brazilian says
San Jose State’s coach
gave her bad advice
In Laie, Silvia Oliveira is known for single-handedly costing the Brigham Young-Hawaii women's volleyball program a shot at another national title. But she believes in her heart that she did little wrong.
"I feel so bad for the team," Oliveira said in a recent interview with the Star-Bulletin. "I know it is my fault, but it is not all my fault. I put the team in this situation and feel so frustrated for them, especially the seniors."
As far as Oliveira and the rest of the volleyball world knew, she was eligible to play right up until the day before BYUH gave up its conference title and chance at defending its national championship.
Oliveira was judged to be an ineligible player for sitting in on two classes at San Jose State but never practicing with the volleyball team. After using up her junior college eligibility in an All-American season at Western Nebraska Community College, Oliveira said she weighed offers from a number of schools but settled on one from San Jose State, even though she was two classes short of her associate's degree, which is a requirement to transfer from a junior college to a four-year school.
Oliveira chose San Jose State in part because of the coaching staff and because it was an opportunity to play Division I volleyball in California.
Oliveira's choice ended up costing BYUH the season, because the school did not report that she had ever attended another institution, even if it was for one morning.
According to Oliveira, San Jose State coach Craig Choate eventually told her she could not play at San Jose State because she had not gotten her associate's degree.
Having put her on scholarship before she completed her coursework, San Jose State may have needed to get rid of her rather than wait for her to get her degree. BYUH did not have her on scholarship until she completed her degree requirements.
Her ordeal may boil down to a simple miscommunication, due to the language barrier, and some possible bad advice.
The Brazilian says she told Choate that she had not earned her associate's degree and that she was simply waiting to take a test from BYU-Provo to get it. She believes she got into a bind after failing a class at Western Nebraska.
Her advisor there told her to drop it, that it was not a requirement for graduation. San Jose State released her from her scholarship after only a few hours on campus and, according to Oliveira, told the sophomore not to tell anyone about her brief experience at the Western Athletic Conference school.
"(Choate) said it doesn't matter," Oliveira said. "He said: 'If someone asks you, you can tell them about coming here, but don't even say anything unless they ask. It's not that important.' "
It turned out to be important enough to rob Brigham Young-Hawaii of its Pacific West Conference championship and the chance to defend its national title.
Choate's only comment was to say, "The girl is not telling the truth," adding that Oliveira has a long history of lying.
Oliveira claims she told Choate she was short of her AA degree, but that he must have misunderstood, leading to her decision to attend BYUH.
"I didn't know I needed the other credit, so I called (Choate) and said, 'I don't have an AA degree and need to take another class.' He told me, 'It's OK, come anyway,' and the day I got there I was all registered and everything was set up. They just handed me my schedules and I went to class.
"On the first day of classes, the head coach called me into his office and told me I didn't have an AA degree. I told him that is what I said on the phone and he said, 'Oh, that's what you meant. Well, you still can't play here.' "
Western Nebraska coach Chris Green says that San Jose State was fully aware that Oliveira was short of her degree during the recruiting process, even instructing her how to get it done.
"They suggested she look on BYU-Provo's Web site and find those courses," Green said. "He (Choate) knew she didn't have the degree, but he may have not known how close she was to completing it. But they were aware (in conversations during the recruiting process) that she was taking the summer courses.
"She always told the truth to me. If there is anything negative I can say about her it is that she shouldn't have procrastinated on those classes and didn't get things done when she needed to, but a lot of college students are like that."
Oliveira says that when she was dumped by the Spartans, Choate offered to pull a few strings to get her on an NCAA Division II team in California or Hawaii. BYUH coaches Wilfred Navalta and Mike Apo claim Choate called Navalta to tell him Oliveira was without a team, faxing her information to Navalta.
That began the recruiting process with BYUH against a number of schools, including Metro State, which Oliveira says e-mailed her every day about playing in Denver, even after her ordeal in San Jose made her ineligible.
Oliveira believes Metro turned BYUH in to the NCAA for the infraction.
"They knew from the beginning," Oliveira said. "They were calling me this summer after I left San Jose State, e-mailing me every day wanting me to go there, but I wanted to go someplace hot, not Denver, Colo.
"They knew everything from the beginning. Why did they wait until the end of the season to tell anyone? I think it is because they wanted me to play there and if I would have gone there they would have not said anything."
Metro coach Debbie Hendricks did not return repeated calls seeking comment.
When the Seasiders landed Oliveira, it led to the first decision new athletic director Ken Wagner had to make. He ruled that Oliveira could not practice with the team until she completed her coursework and asked San Jose State for a release.
According to Wagner, Choate told him that no release was necessary because Oliveira had never attended the school.
After the Seasiders clinched the PacWest title, Wagner received an e-mail from the NCAA alerting him that the program was being investigated for using an ineligible player. Wagner then contacted the San Jose State compliance office to get in writing that Oliveira never attended the school.
San Jose State gave Wagner the answer he wanted, but retracted it the very next day, saying that Oliveira had indeed enrolled but dropped out. Upon hearing that news, Wagner decided to forfeit every game Oliveira played in.
BYUH has a form each recruit must fill out. One question asks the potential recruit if he or she has ever attended another NCAA institution. Oliveira checked "No" and signed the form, but says she didn't know she was lying.
"If I knew that counted, I would have said something," Oliveira said. "But I really didn't know it was an important fact. I was just doing what I was told."
By lying on the school's honor code, Oliveira could be kicked out of school, but Navalta says he intends to petition the NCAA to get Oliveira's eligibility reinstated for next season. The school has been told that it would not be punished for the infraction after the program policed itself by forfeiting its PacWest title.
Oliveira, who drove from Laie to Honolulu to support the Seasiders in their win over Hawaii Pacific the day after being ruled ineligible, says she will stick around if she can.
"I just love volleyball. It is my life, and I couldn't leave behind the team because they have supported me so much," Oliveira said. "It was really tough to watch and not be on the court, but those girls really made me proud. I have talked to the coaches already -- I am going to stay if I can."
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Timeline
Events leading up to BYUH forfeiting the PacWest title
2001
December: Sylvia Oliveira uses up her junior college eligibility at Western Nebraska Community College, wrapping up a great career (AVCA first-team All-American in 2001) but coming two classes short of her associate's degree, which is required to transfer.
2002
January-July: She is recruited by a number of teams, but signs a letter of intent with San Jose State even though she has not earned her associate's degree.August: She shows up at San Jose State on the first day of classes (and the first day of practice) and sits in on "two or three" classes, when coach Craig Choate calls her into the volleyball office and releases her from her scholarship.
September: Oliveira goes to New Jersey to see some friends, and returns to Brazil shortly thereafter.
2003
February: According to BYUH assistant Mike Apo, Choate calls BYUH head coach Wilfred Navalta and says he has a player that is ineligible for him but can play at the D-II level. That starts the recruiting process to Hawaii, with BYUH against a number of schools, including Metro State.August: Oliveira, who spent the past year in Brazil "hanging out," arrives on the BYUH campus in Laie.
September: BYUH athletic director Ken Wagner informs Navalta that Oliveira can't practice with the team until she gets her associate's degree from BYU-Provo.
September: Oliveira sits out BYUH's first seven matches while waiting for a test to arrive from Provo. The wrong test is sent the first time, but she takes it and gets it graded in time to play in the conference opener. During this time, Metro State coach Debbie Hendricks calls Navalta to alert him that he may be on the brink of using an ineligible player, but Navalta thinks she is talking about Oliveira's associate's degree and leaves a message saying that Oliveira is eligible, but thanks for the tip.
Sept. 19: Oliveira debuts in the Seasiders' conference opener at Western New Mexico, registering nine kills in a team-high 30 attempts and digging 15 shots.
Oct. 31: Oliveira drops 11 kills in 29 attempts on Hawaii Pacific in Laie, as the Seasiders clinch the Pacific West Conference title.
Nov. 13: BYUH gets an e-mail from the NCAA saying that it may be in violation for using an ineligible player. BYUH gets in contact with SJSU's compliance office asking if Oliveira had ever attended there. SJSU compliance answers, "No, Oliveira has never attended San Jose State."
Nov. 14: The NCAA contacts BYUH, saying that it is in violation for using an ineligible player. SJSU compliance gets ahold of BYUH and retracts its earlier statement, saying that, upon further investigation, Oliveira did indeed attend San Jose. BYUH issues a release forfeiting all of its conference games, effectively giving up its PacWest title and berth in the regional to Hawaii Pacific.
Nov. 14: Oliveira finishes the season 10th in the conference -- and fourth on the team -- in kills with 160 in 45 games. She makes up 12 percent of the team's offense.
Nov. 15: With Oliveira and injured setter Kaala Lo out of the lineup, the Seasiders beat Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu. They are left out of the NCAA Pacific regional the next day, being told that it was "a mathematical problem," not a matter of their forfeiting their conference games. The Sea Warriors are the Pacific West's only representative.
Nov. 18: The Seasiders, who are told that they will be considered for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, drop from second in the nation out of the AVCA Top 25 poll.