Mauldin Denied Admission to Fullerton

Joe Mauldin, a quarterback whom Cal State Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said might be the best athlete ever recruited to the program, has been denied admission to the university. Mauldin said Friday he will probably attend a community college.

Mauldin, who passed for 1,633 yards last season at San Fernando High School, already had been declared ineligible this season under NCAA Proposition 48.

Mauldin apparently could not be admitted under normal university standards, but might have been admitted under a policy that allows exceptions to athletes and other talented or disadvantaged students.

But the Fullerton athletic department declined to sponsor Mauldin as an exception because he failed to fulfill a new department requirement that potential exceptions attend a summer program for students with academic deficiencies, Murphy said.

“Under NCAA regulations, he fell under Proposition 48 regulations,” Murphy said. “He had the 2.0 GPA in his core classes, but he lacked the necessary SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores.”

Murphy said Mauldin never took the SAT.

Murphy said he thought Mauldin could have been admitted as an exception.

“But under new, more stringent regulations imposed by our (athletic) administration, he could not be admitted to this university. It’s very disappointing because he is one of, if not the best, athletes we have ever recruited to Fullerton,” Murphy said. “Now he will probably go off to a junior college and we will never see him again. I just hope we don’t play against him. He will be a very exciting quarterback.”

Mauldin said he “did not feel misled,” but that he had been “pretty sure” he was going to get in. He said he was considering Merced, Valley, Pierce and Harbor colleges.

Mauldin, 6 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds, was named to The Times’ All-Valley teams in both football and basketball last year, and high-jumped 6-feet, 10-inches last spring.

“It’s not unfair if that’s the policy this year,” Murphy said, “but if you’re the head coach--no, it doesn’t seem fair.”