It’s not necessarily surprising that schools would go to great lengths to knock UConn — the winner of eight of the last 14 NCAA women’s basketball championship — off of its pedestal.
But one anonymous school might have taken that idea a step too far by reporting them for something rather out of the ordinary.
UConn was served with a secondary violation of recruiting rules from the NCAA on Thursday for a congratulatory phone call women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma made to Philadelphia Little League star Mo’ne Davis. Per the Hartford Courant, secondary violations typically don’t result in NCAA penalties.
Naturally, UConn athletic director Warde Manuel did not agree with the ruling.
“Prior to attempting to reach Davis, Coach Auriemma checked with the UConn compliance department and was advised such a call would be permissible since Davis is not considered a prospective student-athlete by the NCAA and the call was to be congratulatory rather than recruiting in nature,” Manuel said.
“While UConn will continue to adhere to the NCAA and conference rules, I believe that upon request from a friend to Geno, a proud Philadelphian, to call a young lady representing the City of Brotherly Love who had accomplished historic feats in the Little League World Series, should not constitute a violation especially due to the fact that NCAA rules do not classify Mo’ne as a prospective student-athlete.”
Under NCAA rules, a one does not become a prospective student-athlete until the ninth grade. Davis, 13, is an eighth grader.
The NCAA, however, decided that Davis was a more significant figure due to her fame and the fact that she had previously expressed that it was a “dream” of hers to play for the Huskies.
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