Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412100027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Browne, a 6-foot-5 guard from Montreal, was ruled to be only a partial qualifier by the NCAA's eligibility clearinghouse due to inadequacies in his ninth-grade transcript.
The NCAA failed to acknowledge that Browne earned credits for ninth-grade history and biology courses. Therefore, Browne has been ruled a Proposition 48 non-qualifier because he has NCAA-approved credits in only nine of 11 required core courses.
Foster wasn't surprised by the ruling.
``This thing has gone on so long that I wasn't real optimistic about it working out,'' Foster noted.
Steve Horton, Tech's assistant athletic director, said Thursday that the school will appeal the decision to the NCAA's academic requirement committee.
``We'll ask them to review the courses he took one more time,'' Horton said. ``I don't have any idea as to what kind of time frame that process will take. Until then, he's a non-qualifier.''
As a non-qualifier, Browne would miss the season and lose a year of eligibility.
Browne has received scholarship aid for the first semester, but if the appeal is denied he and his family will have to pay school expenses for a second semester, Horton said.
``If they say no in the appeal,'' said Horton, ``we're going to ask to let him have aid for a year and be able to practice, with three years' of playing eligibility remaining.
``Here's a international kid who can't possibly pay for his schooling. In the past, I hear the NCAA has has looked at some of those situations in a favorable light.''
Foster, who currently has only eight scholarship players and one walk-on on his roster, was counting on Browne giving the Hokies another capable outside shooter.
The Hokies (5-1) do expect to get 6-8 center Keefe Matthews back soon. Matthews, a junior college transfer, is currently recovering from mid-November arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and could be ready in time for Tech's Dec.28 game at Tennessee.
by CNB