NCAA grants eligibility extension

The NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff granted Duke's season-of-competition waiver request Wednesday, which was filed last week for 33 players from the 2005-2006 men's lacrosse team.

The conditions of the waiver dictate that non-seniors from the canceled season will be provided with a fifth year of eligibility to play lacrosse.

The 2006 seniors are excluded from the ruling because NCAA rules dictate that student-athletes have five years to complete their four seasons of eligibility, and that window has expired. Additionally, many of those seniors have played professionally since graduation.

"These individuals were involved in an unusual circumstance that we believe warrants providing them the opportunity to complete their four years of competition," Jennifer Strawley, NCAA director of student-athlete reinstatement and membership services, said in a statement.

Senior Associate Director of Athletics Chris Kennedy, who played a large role in constructing the appeal to the NCAA, said the biggest challenge for Duke was the lack of precedent for its case.

Kennedy said the University's argument was built upon an analogy to teams affected in the fall of 2005 as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

"There was a women's soccer team whose season was never cancelled, but it was disrupted and they played 12 out of 20 games. There was a swimming team that competed in nine out of their 20 scheduled games and they both got their seasons back," Kennedy said. "The key thing we had to demonstrate to the NCAA was that the season was cancelled for reasons that were beyond our institution's control."

Last spring, when the Department of Athletics first inquired about petitioning for an extra year of eligibility for last season's seniors, the NCAA believed that the players were responsible for the cancellation of the season because they had held the party, Kennedy said.

The team learned that Kennedy had begun the petition process two months ago, and Kennedy confirmed that to the team about a month ago, the graduate said.

McDevitt noted the difficult nature of the decision this year's senior class, in particular, must make in the near future.

"I think everybody has a real interest," McDevitt said. "It's just whether it'll be plausible or not."

McDevitt, who has a job with Merrill Lynch in New York City already lined up for the fall, said part of each player's choice is contingent upon the understanding of their new employers and whether, logistically, returning is in their best interest.

"Everyone just wants to make the right decision-and it's not an easy one," he said. "You have to weigh your options, but the two biggest things are that you are getting this opportunity to, one, further your education at Duke, and, two, to play lacrosse again with all your best friends. That's an opportunity that doesn't come around everyday, and that is something that I am sure people will consider."

Regardless of each individual's choice, there is a sense that this decision has brought further closure to a team that has dealt with the effects of a national scandal for over a year.

"We're gratified by this decision from the NCAA, and feel it is a fair resolution to our situation," Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said in a statement Wednesday.