The situation with the University of Alaska's self-reported violations and the NCAA's ban on postseason play for the Nanooks, among other penalties, has already been well-documented on other sites including USCHO.com, collegehockeynews.com, and The (Fairbanks) Daily News-Miner, so I won't go into extended detail here.
Put simply, Alaska will forfeit its men's hockey victories between 2007 and 2012, including a pair of Governor's Cup titles against in-state rival Alaska Anchorage, and will also lose several scholarships. Four more of Alaska's intercollegiate athletic teams will be taken to task in one way, shape or form, including the dual loss of victories and scholarships.
There have been been academic problems at the former UAF before – the 1991-92 Nanook hockey squad had to sacrifice a total of 12 victories because of academic "violations", including the ludicrous NCAA stipulation that a student-athlete's five-year eligibility clock begins ticking once he or she enrolls at an intercollegiate institution or even a community college. That's even if that institution doesn't field (or ice) their particular sport. The same thing happened with Scotland native Colin Shields, who lost an entire season (2000-01) at Maine that way, although the Black Bears didn't have to forfeit any games because he sat out every contest his freshman year.
The current Alaska players are the ones who will be punished for the transgressions of adults who should have kept a better eye on things. The NCAA also seems to be – wrongly – looking to make an example out of a smaller Division II school where there are transgressions all over the place, some bordering on the outright criminal, at some of its various Division I members.
You can bet this would have never happened with the Florida State football program.
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