Bemidji State University (BSU) football has lost their chance at post-season contention due to an administrative oversight in the transfer process of junior defensive back Anthony Ragsdale.
Wrongly overlooking this issue allowed Ragsdale’s participation in the 2009-10 football season. The University recently became aware of the oversight and immediately notified the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and removed Ragtsdale from competition until the NCAA makes their decision.
Ragsdale, of Bremerton, WA, has competed in nine games, all of which are now nullified due to his ineligibility. The nullification is not a forfeiture of contest, but penalizes the team’s “winning percentage, strength of schedule index and other selection criteria used in the NCAA Championship selection process,” stated a press release dated Nov. 7.
This criteria directly affects the team’s possibility for post-season play. The penalties for using Ragsdale includes an overall win-loss percentage 0.025, Division II average opponent win-loss percentage 0.010, Division II win-loss percentage 0.026, In Region win-loss percentage 0.026.
In team sports, a team is ineligible for championship selections if their won-lost record falls below 0.500 after adjustments for nullifications. Although the penalties applied to BSU football result in a record of 0.502, the strong performance of other teams in the Super Region Three and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference actively remove the Beavers from post-season contention.
Upon discovery, the University conducted an investigation and sent a report to the NCAA. The report included the investigation results as well as a “suggested policy and procedural changes to better manage future student-athlete transfers,” stated the press release.
Bemidji State University has no further comments on the matter.
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