PROVO — Lewis University, which defeated BYU for the 2003 men's volleyball national championship, has alerted the NCAA an internal investigation revealed the Flyers' championship team included an ineligible player.
It's the second time in as many years the men's volleyball champion has undergone NCAA scrutiny involving ineligible players. If Lewis suffers similar sanctions to those given the University of Hawaii last year, the Flyers could be stripped of their national title and championship trophy.
Lewis nipped BYU 42-44, 30-27, 30-21, 23-30, 15-12 last May in Long Beach, Calif. With titles in 1999 and 2001, the Cougars previously had never lost an NCAA tournament match.
If NCAA sanctions affect Lewis' championship status, the championship slot would be listed by the NCAA as "vacated."
At BYU, athletics officials are hesitant to comment, wanting to avoid any appearance of "sour grapes" or an anxiousness to step into the spotlight at the expense of a peer's misfortunes.
"The main thing is that we lost when we shouldn't have lost," said BYU men's volleyball coach Tom Peterson, preferring to "let things take care of themselves" with the Hawaii and Lewis decisions.
With the two past champions' programs under investigation, "of course, that can't be good for men's volleyball to have that happen," said Peterson, who led the Cougars to the finals his first year in Provo and guided Penn State to the national crown in 1994.
If Lewis suffers the most severe sanctions, BYU could even end up with the 2003 championship trophy. At least that's what happened in 1970, when the Cougars finished tied for second with Kansas and Oregon, with national champion California later stripped of the title for using an ineligible athlete. A year later, the '70 first-place trophy was delivered to Provo, with no condition of BYU returning the second-place trophy it replaced — both trophies still reside on campus.
Joseph Falese, Lewis' vice president of student services, said the university received a confidential tip in early November, which initiated an internal investigation and submitted its report to the NCAA on Dec. 22. Lewis also has declared the player ineligible for 2004 and has revamped its eligibility certification processes.
No timetable is set for a decision by the NCAA, which does not comment on schools or situations under investigation. Lewis officials acknowledged the consequences may be severe — even to the stripping of the Flyers' national championship.
"There is a range of penalties, and it is obviously in their hands," said Falese of the NCAA, adding that "we want to work with them."
In September 2003, the NCAA announced it had vacated the 2002 championship claimed by Hawaii and its place in the national tournament's final standings because the Warriors used an ineligible athlete. Other sanctions included the deletion of team performance and records in the championship tournament, the return of the team trophy and individual awards received by the ineligible athlete and the payment of a $5,000 fine.
Hawaii is appealing, saying that while four-time All-American outside hitter and two-time national player of the year Costas Theocharidis of Greece played on a professional team in Europe before enrolling at the university, he was not paid. The university also says the infraction was deemed a "secondary" violation, with officials unable to be aware of or suspect Theocharidis' ineligibility.
Lewis University officials cite privacy issues in not identifying the ineligible player. However, Lewis coach Dave Deuser told the Honolulu Advertiser — the Flyers opened their 2004 season last weekend in a Hawaii tournament — that the player is All-American outside hitter and 2003 tournament MVP Gustavo Meyer, who was also suspended for parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons for having submitted an incorrect entrance exam.
Saying neither Lewis nor Hawaii should be stripped of their national titles, Deuser labeled amateur rules involving international players as vague, adding that "if you look deep enough into any athletic program in the country, you'll find dozens of violations."
With eligibility issues involving international athletes at the heart of both situations, Falese said Lewis will monitor not only NCAA reaction to its admissions but the association's response to the Hawaii appeal. "There are some similarities to it, but each case is different," Falese said.
Peterson admits eligibility issues "are kind of muddled," since professional competition, summer leagues, recreational teams and club programs continue to overlap each other a little more all the time.
Calling foreign players "a good deal for men's volleyball," Peterson said "if you do it right, it's great for your (American) players and for them. . . . There's much more positive with international athletes than anything that's negative."
Lewis' championship victory was celebrated as the first-ever Division I men's volleyball title claimed by a Division II program. A private Catholic university with an enrollment of 4,400 students, Lewis is located in Romeoville, Ill., 40 miles southwest of Chicago.
Lewis, which reached the 1996 and 1998 men's volleyball Final Four, competes in the sport at the Division I level, since a Division II school is allowed at the top level in one sport per institution. The Flyers are members of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, which includes the likes of Ohio State, Ball State and Loyola.
In a pairing of the 2003 NCAA finalists, BYU and Lewis are scheduled to meet in a regular-season match in Provo in late March.
E-MAIL: taylor@desnews.com