The Rustorian

Issue date: 2/28/09 Section: Sports

Weather-battered goal posts and nets.

The athletic program at Rust College may face possible probation if NCAA requirements are not met soon.

The college has failed to fulfill the requirements in intercollegiate sports activities, including soccer, women's cross country and women's tennis. All these sports failed to meet roster requirements and the number of division 3 games that must be played over this past season.

Rust vice president and athletic director, Dr. Ishmell Edwards said, "At this point after being in correspondence with NCAA verbally and with no written document given, there has been no sanctions and we don't expect any sanctions. There might be sanctions next year if we don't get the number of participants on these teams as well as the right number of games played."

The NCAA requires all schools with athletic programs to have a certain number of team sports and individual sports. They also require each school to compete against 51 percent of schools in their division class. However, Rust in division three, did not meet the requirements over last season in those sports.

With soccer in particular, Edwards mentioned that the men's soccer team had initially met NCAA roster requirements but because of part-time jobs held by most of the players, and some lacking dedication, the program fell beneath requirements during the middle of the season.

According to Rod Mabry, the soccer part-time head coach, the team last season had 17 players and played 10 games. But "The season was a bit disappointing due to players quitting. The previous years were pretty good though," Mabry said.

Team member Lamin Touray, a junior majoring in computer science, echoes Mabry's reaction on players attitude. "I have been playing soccer since I was 4 and I feel the season was disappointing due to lack of talents, and the talents we did have are lackadaisical about playing."

Edwards, however, said the school will continue to strive to get students to participate in the less popular sports on campus. The athletic program, he said, has up to one year to get things in order before NCAA takes action.

Another Bearcat player, Stefen White, a junior business major, is enthusiastic about the soccer program and would like it to make progress. He said the school should invest on improving the program.

White, who hopes for possibility of playing professional soccer in future, said the soccer field needs to be replanted with grass, rather than the current stones and dirt cover on it. Moreover, "We need sports gears like boots, jerseys, new goal posts and nets, including a fulltime head coach who can be available at all times for practice."

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