UConn Officially Out of the 2012-2013 Postseason

Alex Oriakhi (right)/AP Images

The University of Connecticut men’s basketball appeal on their postseason ban due to low Academic Performance Rate (APR) scores, was upheld by the NCAA, meaning the Huskies will not be eligible for next seasons postseason. 



By Lauren Dellipoali


This has a lot of ramifications for the Huskies, who will more than likely lose the majority of their roster to transfers or the NBA. Alex Oriakhi has already said he will be transferring and is looking at other schools. Because UConn cannot make the postseason, any transfer will be able to play right away and will not be forced to sit out a year.


It is still unclear as to whether or not UConn will be able to play in the Big East tournament, or if they would want to. The Huskies typically play well in the tournament, and their games are typically exciting (see their games against SU). If they cannot play in the Big East tournament, it will be a major blow to the tournament which has already lost crowd favorite Syracuse as well as Pittsburgh to the ACC. 


UConn is one of the best public research universities, and hold their student-athletes to a high standard according to their President Susan Herbst. They are also the first team to be banned from the postseason due to low ARP scores, and they may not be the last. There have been rumblings that the NCAA is taking a closer look at Syracuse’s academic performance as well. 


The scores used for UConn were not the most recent scores, which would have made them eligible, rather they were from later years, but that did not help UConn during their appeal. 


This also puts the career of head coach Jim Calhoun in even more question. After taking a leave of absence during the season, many have questioned if he would return, and the fact that he would basically be coaching a lame duck team may make his decision to retire even more realistic. 


So come March next year, the madness will be missing one of its biggest and most successful teams, and who knows, maybe more teams will follow in UConn’s unfortunate footsteps.