Ncaa Rejects Thomas’ Appeal

New Mexico basketball recruit Kenny Thomas struck out again with the NCAA, which has declared the freshman power forward ineligible for the upcoming season.

The NCAA Council’s subcommittee on initial eligibility waivers reconsidered Thomas’ case and stood by its Oct. 18 decision that Thomas is ineligible because a ninth-grade science course he took at El Paso Austin High School was not one of the 13 core courses required by the NCAA.

“It’s an unfortunate time in sports when the NCAA is so jaundiced by all the ills that occur in college athletics that they take out on a then-14-year-old who is merely doing what adults told him to do and then making him pay a punishment that far exceeds the crime,” UNM men’s basketball coach Dave Bliss said.