May 1, 2006

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's University men's lacrosse team has been declared ineligible to participate in the upcoming 2006 Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship due to an inadvertent breach of the conference by-law limiting the number of athletic awards for a given academic year.

Saint Joseph's is a member of the MAAC in men's lacrosse only and awarded 4.63 athletic grants to this year's team (the NCAA limit is 12.60 per team). In completing the necessary compliance information for the league's post-season tournament, the athletic department discovered that the current MAAC by-law limits scholarship awards in this sport to 4.00.

As a result of Saint Joseph's administrative error, the MAAC notified SJU that its men's lacrosse team would not be eligible for the 2006 championship. The University exhausted all appeals to the MAAC commissioner, the conference Compliance and Enforcement Committee, and the league's Executive Committee. A subsequent request to the MAAC presidents for alternate sanctions was also denied.

"Although we hoped for a different outcome, we were treated fairly by the MAAC and its presidents," said Saint Joseph's president Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. "They applied conference rules and precedent consistently. I have since directed an external review of all related athletic department policies, procedures, and resources.

"I would like to apologize to our student-athletes and parents for this error. I would also like to commend the team captains - Frank Abruzzini '06 (Maplewood, N.J.), B.J. Fritts '06 (Dallas, Tex.), and Keegan Wilkinson '06 (Columbia, Md.) - who have been completely respectful in their dealings with me and in serving as facilitators with their teammates."

"It's extremely difficult having to inform student-athletes they cannot compete, especially when their conduct or performance had nothing to do with this situation," added SJU athletics director Don DiJulia. "I personally apologize for this error, and our entire department regrets the outcome and its impact on the team."

The Hawks finish their season 5-3 in the MAAC (fourth place) and 6-9 overall.