Coming off the first loss of the season, the Warriors found out their first four wins have been forfeited due to an ineligible player.
The college reported to the Southern California Football Association that one of its players was ineligible for the first four games of the season, Tony Barbone, athletic director, said.
Barbone added that there will be an appeal in two to three weeks.
Athletic officials discovered that a player had incorrect information sent from a previous institution
Once the discovery was made, the player was deemed ineligible, Barbone said.
When the ineligible player was changed to his correct sophomore status from freshmen status, he did not meet his sophomore athlete standards, Barbone said.
“To be a sophomore athlete, the player must maintain a GPA of 2.0 and be in normal degree progression and the player didn’t have the minimum GPA,” Barbone said.
EC’s reputation should not change; the faculty and the staff are “forthright” at all times as Barbone said that this player was ineligible due to the sophomore status.
College officials refused to release the player’s name due to student confidentiality.
The Warriors are going to have to get together and be as unified as ever as they face College of the Canyons next Saturday, coach John Featherstone said.
“I’m the eternal optimist,” Featherstone said. “We’re still one of the most respected athletic teams in the country. This is just a small bump in the road. We’ve done everything right to rectify this situation. We’re still in the hunt for the championship. We’ll be all right.”
When contacted by the Union, several football players declined to comment. However, a defensive lineman who asked that his name not be used, said he was upset about the situation.
“I felt like the division should have let the coaches know,” the linemen said. “Why did this happen after four games of the season? They could have found out after the first game that this player was ineligible.”