UConn Basketball: Huskies Lose Appeal on Postseason Ban for 2013

The 2012-13 season just took a turn for the worse for the UConn men's basketball team, who will be ineligible for postseason play next year due to prior academic performance.

The university had appealed the decision, but the NCAA held up the ban.

From UConnHuskies.com:

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The University of Connecticut has been informed by the NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance (CAP) that it has denied the school's final appeal of a postseason ban on its men's basketball team for the 2012-13 season because of the team's past cumulative Academic Performance Rate (APR) scores.

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Here's some more information on the APR scores that caused the ban, from ESPN:

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Under the NCAA's new rules, a school must have a two-year average score of 930 or a four-year average of 900 on the NCAA's annual APR, which measures the academic performance of student-athletes.

Connecticut men's basketball scored 826 on the APR for 2009-10. School officials have said it will come in at just above 975 for 2010-11. The scores are expected to be higher in 2011-12.

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The Huskies will also be banned from participating in the Big East tournament, another huge blow for the program which is now the first to face such a punishment for academic reasons.

The implications for the team run deep as well. It remains to be seen if or how this will affect recruiting, if players will consider transferring and if it will push Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond to declare for this year's NBA draft.

Plus, Jim Calhoun isn't getting younger. After dealing with health issues in recent years (along with this incident), retirement isn't outside the realm of possibility.

The months ahead should be very interesting indeed for the UConn men's basketball program. The implications of this postseason ban may last beyond one year.

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