Tulane Disqualified From Southeast Regionals
Posted: April 27, 2015 08:55 PM
Auburn Invited to National Championships
Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 27, 2015)—USA Ultimate announced today that results attained by Tulane University at last weekend’s southeast regional qualifying tournament have been nullified and its invitation to the College Championships revoked after competing with an academically ineligible player.
Eventual fourth-place finisher Auburn University was offered an invitation to the College Championships as the next highest-placed team at regionals. Auburn is poised to join third-place finisher Georgia, runner-up Central Florida and regional champion Florida State as the men’s teams representing the Southeast at the College Championships, May 22-25 in Milwaukee, Wis.
USA Ultimate learned of the ineligible player Monday. The player subsequently admitted to forging team registration documents and misrepresenting to USA Ultimate his status as an enrolled student at the university.
Since the vacated bid to the College Championships was the result of Tulane’s disqualification, and all four bids to Nationals were legitimately earned via teams’ end-of-season rankings – Florida State (6), Central Florida (9), Georgia (10), Florida (11) – it was determined that the Southeast Region would retain the bid, resulting in Auburn’s inclusion.
"It’s unfortunate that the decisions and actions of one individual compromised an entire team’s opportunity to fulfill its goal of competing at the College Championships," commented Ty Krajec, USA Ultimate Manager of Competition & Athlete Programs. "Tulane otherwise had a tremendous season and has a lot to be proud of both on and off the field. That said, Auburn is a worthy recipient of a trip to Nationals, and we hope they represent the Southeast region well."
The final field for the 2015 USA Ultimate College Championships will be decided following the second weekend of regional tournaments May 2-3. For an up-to-date look at which teams have qualified and which regions are up for grabs,
visit usaultimate.org/college.
The Tulane University Men's Ultimate Team issued the following statement in conjunction with USA Ultimate:
The 2014-15 season has been one of unprecedented success for Tulane Rex Ultimate, having won several tournaments and ending the season ranked 24th in the nation by USA Ultimate. After winning third place in the Southeast Regional Championships this past weekend, we were shocked to learn that one of our players was academically ineligible to participate. We are heartbroken and disappointed that we didn't learn this prior to the postseason. As a result, we will be unable to participate in the 2015 College Championships.
We have spent the day working with USAU to handle the matter in a fair and efficient way, and we greatly appreciate their support in such a difficult situation. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to all the teams and players adversely affected.
This was an incredible year for the Gulf Coast Conference and the Southeast Region. We are incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to compete with such talented teams and look forward to spirited and competitive matches next season and in the future.
Ben Lamport and Patrick Murphy
Co-Captains, Tulane Rex Ultimate