Hawaii’s LaBoy Won’t Play in Bowl

Travis LaBoy, Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the year, won’t play in the Hawaii Bowl, Hawaii Coach June Jones said Monday.

Jones said he hasn’t heard from or seen the senior defensive end, voted by the team as its most valuable player, since Saturday.

The Warriors (8-5) play Houston (7-5) on Thursday. LaBoy told the Honolulu Advertiser on Monday that he would be academically ineligible to play. The WAC requires that student-athletes pass at least six credit hours in a semester leading up to a postseason game.

“I’m disappointed he let his teammates down, that’s too bad,” Jones said. “I feel like when these things happen, the next guy will step up and be a star.”

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Starting center Chase Johnson is among five Texas Christian players suspended for today’s Fort Worth Bowl against No. 18-ranked Boise State. Johnson missed curfew at the team hotel Saturday night. Four freshmen -- fullbacks Marcus Draper and Reggie La’Mothe, and cornerbacks Gerrad Wilson and Derek Ferry -- were suspended for violating unspecified team rules that same night.

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John Swofford, the Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner, told Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley that some mistakes were made by referee Jack Childress and his crew in Florida’s disputed 38-34 loss to Florida State on Nov. 29. Foley said Swofford told him the errors were being dealt with internally.

From Associated Press