AMES, Iowa ? Iowa State freshman men's basketball player Lucca Staiger will miss the entire 2007-08 season and lose a year of eligibility the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff announced Wednesday.
Staiger's penalties were the result of his participation on a German professional team ? in which several teammates, but not Staiger, received stipends deemed by the NCAA to be above actual and necessary expenses ? prior to his enrollment at Iowa State. The Iowa State University Athletics Department will appeal this decision to the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee.
“We are very disappointed to learn today that the NCAA's student-athlete reinstatement staff has upheld the one-year suspension for Lucca Staiger,” Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. “We had hoped that the NCAA staff would share our belief that the right thing to do in this particular case was to set aside precedent and do what is in the best interest of the student-athlete. Unfortunately, they do not share our sentiment.”
With this decision, the NCAA has reinstated Staiger's eligibility (making him certified for competition), but the loss of a year of competition was a condition for that reinstatement. The reinstatement staff considered case precedence, student-athlete responsibility and mitigating factors presented by the school when ruling.
“We have notified the NCAA staff that we wish to exhaust all available options in an attempt to restore Lucca's eligibility for this year,” Pollard added. “Our only remaining option is to appeal Lucca's case to the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, which is comprised of other administrators from peer institutions. We hope that our peers will share our belief that the right thing to do is set aside precedent and restore Lucca's eligibility for the remainder of the year.”
Staiger may continue to practice and participate in all Iowa State men's basketball team activities except for game action this year. Staiger played his senior year of high school basketball at Decatur (Ill.) Christian and averaged 13 points per game. His 2005 prep team won the German High School Championships with the help of his 24.2 scoring average.
To view a copy of the NCAA news release, go to www.ncaa.org, choose the Media & Events tab at the top and click on Press Room.
