Ineligible player may cause Columbia to forfeit two wins

Columbia defensive tackle Matt Stary remembers the last tackle he made in a 28-14 upset victory over Yale last Saturday.

"It was a screen play toward the Yale sidelines," Stary said. "My last collegiate tackle was for a loss."

It was certainly a tackle for a loss -- Stary brought Yale's Pat Bydume down two yards behind the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter.

But now Stary's tackle might have occurred in a loss.

Stary was declared ineligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics on Tuesday after it was revealed that he was a part-time student, one who was not taking enough credits this term to graduate.

As a result, Columbia may have to forfeit its two victories this season.

Columbia has indicated that it will investigate and exact its own punishments.

The Ivy League will also discuss the matter, possibly as early as next week. It holds meetings of athletic directors on Nov. 7 and the Policy Committee on Nov. 8.

The situation is reminiscent of one at Penn four years ago, when part-time student Mitch Marrow's participation on the football team caused the Quakers to forfeit five of their six wins.

Penn had tried to cover up Marrow's ineligibility, however, attempting to enroll the linebacker in an independent study class in late November.

Stary's situation is different. He noticed the problem -- he needed 14 credits to graduate this semester and was only taking nine -- as he was looking at his transcript on the Internet on Tuesday. Stary immediately called Jackie Blackett, Columbia's associate athletic director for compliance, who double-checked and informed Columbia coach Ray Tellier.

"Ten minutes after I found out I was declared ineligible," Stary said.

Stary -- who did not play in 1997, his freshman year, because of a broken foot -- sat down with his advisor in the spring and decided to push back his graduation so he could utilize his final year of eligibility. They worked out his academic plans at that time.

"As far as I knew, I was registered for the right number of classes," Stary said.

Stary currently has 110 credits and needs 124 to graduate. His courseload this semester is nine credits, and Columbia's last day to add classes was Sept. 21.

Columbia did not notice the problem sooner, according to the Columbia Spectator, because of a glitch in its computer system.

Blackett told the Spectator that Stary's name was not specially coded in the registrar's system, like those of other student-athletes.

Blackett said she receives a list of athletes taking less than 12 credits every Friday, but that Stary's name was not on the list.

Stary, who does not believe Columbia's football team should be penalized, did not go to practice on Tuesday. He was on the sidelines on Wednesday, where he interacted with many of his former teammates.

"They all had some sort of response," Stary said. "But they don't really know what to say, but they let me know they were behind me.

"I knew this was going to be my last season, but I didn't think it would end like this."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.