Ncaa Won’T Punish Vandals

The University of Idaho will not be punished by the NCAA for using an ineligible football player last season.

Defensive tackle Ma’o Niko played in two non-conference games despite having exhausted his eligibility. Niko misled the university and the Big West Conference by failing to volunteer that he had played at Los Angeles Harbor College in 1991.

Upon discovering Niko’s oversight, Idaho self-reported the incident. The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions reviewed the case and determined Idaho had committed a secondary, or minor, violation.

“Please note that forfeiture is not required … due to the studentathlete’s provision of fraudulent information and not because of the level of the young man’s contribution,” enforcement representative Lisa Dehon wrote Idaho this week.

“I wasn’t too worried,” UI athletic director Mike Bohn said, “based on the fact that we handled the matter swiftly and our compliance office was fully cooperative and documented the whole process.

“It’s a clear reflection that the institution didn’t do anything wrong.”

Idaho finished 9-3, won the Big West and beat Southern Mississippi in the Humanitarian Bowl.

High school baseball

Starting pitcher Andy Mikles provided a good finish to Post Falls’ baseball game at Cheney on Wednesday.

Mikles tripled in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning and the Trojans edged Cheney 11-9 in a non-league game.

Mikles allowed one run in three innings and was staked to a 5-1 lead. Cheney rallied behind Pat Laughlin, who homered twice and had five runs batted in.

Evan Sloyka pitched a perfect seventh for the win.

Junior college softball

Stacy Dawson’s three doubles and three runs batted in Wednesday helped North Idaho College defeat Big Bend Community College 8-4 to salvage a split of a non-league doubleheader at Coeur d’Alene’s Memorial Field.

Dawson’s two-run double high-lighted a five-run first inning. She also doubled in the third and the fifth. Annie Carhart contributed an RBI triple and an RBI double.

The Cardinals (11-10-1) lost the opener 3-2 when Big Bend scored three in the seventh. Paula Paterson, the second-game winner, had a big error during the Vikings’ rally.