NCAA Makes Big Noise Against a Small Sport

Even though the stinging blow of sweeping NCAA penalties had lessened somewhat for the UCLA women’s softball team--since it will not be barred from the upcoming national tournament because of the Bruins’ appeal--the repercussions continued Wednesday.

For instance, at least two juniors could be playing in their final postseason action because if the appeal is denied, the Bruins will be prevented from playing in the 1998 NCAA tournament. The players could possibly end up going elsewhere for a final season.

Which is why closure didn’t exactly occur after the NCAA handed down the stiff sanctions Tuesday: taking away the Bruins’ 1995 national title, putting UCLA’s athletic program on probation for three years and an additional reduction in scholarships.

Already, the softball program was affected during the 20-month investigation. UCLA Coach Sue Enquist, who was not named in the NCAA violations, said it has cost them players.

“Absolutely. I’m not going to get into names--because she [a recruit] told me--so, yes we have lost players because of it,” Enquist said.

Enquist had mixed feelings Wednesday after practice. The probe focused on three softball players who were given soccer scholarships. None of the three played on the Bruins’ soccer team.

“It’s been extremely hard and we had been led to believe that this would not happen,” Enquist said. “And it’s devastating. And it’s shocking. My sadness lies in [that] a group of individuals had nothing to do with the violations. There’s not one student-athlete or staff member that was involved in this. . . . That’s the hardest thing to accept.

Senior Alleah Poulson of Irvine and sophomore Christie Ambrosi of Overland Park, Kan., agreed the punishment did not fit the transgression. And the loss of the national title was tough to take for Poulson because she was a major player in the championship run.

“That kind of bums me out because I felt like I was a real big part of that,” she said. “But I was able to deal with that a lot better than dealing with not playing in the postseason.”

Freshman Stacey Nuveman of La Verne said she was not thinking about transferring.

“Not at all. I’m happy at UCLA. I’m enjoying myself, having a good season,” she said. “And I don’t see any reason to jump into anything and make a rash decision like that.”

During the investigation, the Bruins have already been through two recruiting cycles, Enquist said. Now, because of the appeal, there will be continuing lingering questions about next year’s NCAA tournament.

The appeal on the sole issue of postseason play will be made to the NCAA Appeals Committee, and that won’t be considered until the summer. UCLA has requested that the appeal be made in person, according to Betsy Stephenson, UCLA’s senior woman administrator.

Despite the penalty to UCLA, Arizona was not awarded the 1995 championship. The spot will remain vacant. The Bruins beat Arizona, 4-2, in the title game.

Wildcat Coach Mike Candrea, whose team is ranked No. 1 and won the NCAA championship in 1996, took the high road when asked about UCLA’s downfall.

“They beat us on the field,” he said. “We had a chance to compete and we left it at that. Many people have asked me about it. But you win and lose the games between the lines.”

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They Lost Their Titles

Five Division I schools that vacated their championships:

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Year School Sport 1978 San Francisco Men’s soccer 1983 Texas El Paso Men’s cross-country 1988 Tulsa Women’s golf 1990 Syracuse Men’s lacrosse 1995 UCLA Women’s softball

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Note: Championships have also been stripped from seven Division II and III schools.

Source: NCAA