Dust Settles After Abrupt End for Men’s Hoops
by William Singer

After coming to grips with the revelation that the Oberlin men’s basketball team had used an ineligible player all season, the College has begun to react to the reality that the most successful season in 10 years has ended without a single win.

College President Nancy Dye explained that the decision to forfeit the season, just as Oberlin had advanced to the semifinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament, was a matter of sportsmanship. “Oberlin had to forfeit the games because when you are found to have played an ineligible player, the rule of the thumb is [that] you have to forfeit every game that that player played in, at the very least.”
Dye would not discuss facts surrounding the player’s eligibility, citing respect for the student’s educational privacy, and is now focused on correcting the mistake that led to this disaster. “We have to find out what happened here, why it happened, how it happened, and set about putting changes into place that will prevent it from happening again,” she said.
“And so I’ve set up an investigation which will be chaired by Scott McMillin, professor of English, and who also chairs the General Faculty Committee on Athletics. The committee will include several other faculty members, and also one of our longtime trustees named Chip Pullman,” Dye said. Mr. Pullman was a member of the football team while an Oberlin student in the 1950s, and is currently a “preeminent lawyer in Columbus,” according to Dye.
“When the investigation is completed, to the extent that it is appropriate, certainly the findings will be made public,” Dye said. “This should be done speedily…[and] by the end of the semester.”

A front-page article in the Feb. 21 Chronicle Telegram identified the ineligible player as sophomore Chris Ikpoh, who enrolled at Oberlin last fall after transferring from the University of Chicago. Ikpoh led the Yeomen in scoring and rebounding this season.
Dye stressed that Ikpoh has done nothing wrong, even while the controversy centers on him. “Basically, there is no question at this point that the individual student athlete was ineligible…[But] he bears no responsibility; he is utterly blameless,” she said.
“I have made it clear to the conference, and to the faculty, and now more publicly, that the responsibility for this lies entirely with Oberlin College. This was an institutional failure, and we need to remedy whatever we learn to have caused it to happen,” Dye said.

The specifics of that failure remain unclear, although apparently the player’s academic eligibility was never conclusively verified after he transferred schools. Mike Cavey, head men’s basketball coach, declined to elaborate on the exact circumstances surrounding the forfeiture of the games. Members of the men’s basketball team referred inquiries on eligibility back to Coach Cavey.

An assistant to Athletic Director Michael Muska cancelled an appointment for an interview for this story, saying that Muska would not discuss the basketball team.
Cavey, however, was willing to speak on the reaction of his players. “Everybody seems to be holding up really well,” he said. “The initial shock seems to have worn off, and they’re all about just getting going with post-season workouts and getting ready for next year.”
Dye does not expect the forfeiture to undermine Oberlin’s reputation as an academic institution. “Certainly, in the world of intercollegiate athletics, we could not single out Oberlin as some sort of bad apple,” she said. “This is an aberration for Oberlin, and it’s being viewed that way.”

Dye went on to state her conviction “that athletics at Oberlin should and can be a healthy and integral part of this College.”
“I don’t believe that we have a serious conflict at Oberlin between athletics and our educational mission,” Dye said. “I have long believed, and continue to believe, that Oberlin should make every effort to have a strong and competitive intercollegiate athletics program; it should also have a strong intramural program; it should have a strong club sports program.”

Cavey was determined to find something positive to take away from a season of highs and lows, both on and off the court.
“Let me just say that it’s a terrible way to end the season,” Cavey said. “But whatever happens, no one can take away the nine wins that we had and our win over Ohio Wesleyan to put us into the semis. It might go on paper as 0-25, but we were there, we know we won those games, and no one can take that away from us.”

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