UIC Flames Winter, Spring Sports Teams Banned From Conference Championships After Violating Horizon League's Bylaws
CHICAGO (CBS) -- UIC announced on Jan. 25 it's leaving the Horizon League for the Missouri Valley Conference next school year.
In response, the Horizon League went straight to its rule book, citing conference bylaw 2.5.3.3, the UIC Flames lose the privilege to participate in league championships. CBS 2's Matt Zahn reported Tuesday night on the fight on campus.
It's a tough day at UIC. All of their winter and spring sports teams have been banned from playing in conference championships. Out of 18 conferences with teams exiting, like Loyola leaving the Missouri Valley, only three have gone the route the Horizon League did.
"We're stunned. We knew this was a possibility. But when you look around the country, 32 major athletic conferences in the nation, 18 have pending membership changes right now. Only three conferences nationally have chosen to take this kind of punitive action against their student-athletes. To have it become a reality. It just feels heartless and really entirely unnecessary," said Athletic Director Michael Lipitz.
"They've been practicing all their lives for this moment. And to have it taken away from them, that's not fair," said women's basketball coach Tasha Pointer.
"It's every young boy and young girl's dream whether they're playing softball; they're playing tennis, basketball, etc. to get into an NCAA championship environment," said men's basketball coach Luke Yaklich.
UIC did break the Horizon's League's bylaws by not giving a year's notice and the league has the right to do this, but as UIC Athletic Director Michael Lipitz put it, they could also choose not to do it. It's the seniors that this news hits especially hard.
"It's really, just heartbreaking. for swimmers and divers this is truly the time where all our hard work really is showcased in our Horizon League championships, and truly they're only a week away. We were supposed to board the bus next week Tuesday. So it's just the timing of everything. Really is heartbreaking," said senior Cydney Liebenberg.
"I just remember hearing the news and I just speak out to my team and my voice is quivering, I'm breaking down because this is all for me. It's my last year. plan on going back home becoming a firefighter so I was really looking into like giving it my all this year. And just hearing that, it's people in power taking away the opportunity for the students. The student-athletes are getting punished for it," said senior Cory Moore.
Lipitz says UIC has vowed to fight on their student athlete's behalf, and they'll do whatever they can to hopefully get this decision overturned.
The Flames swimming and diving team has already started an online petition to be allowed to participate in the next conference championship -- which starts one week from Wednesday.
It should be noted the school did pay the requisite exit fee and then applied for a special waiver of that bylaw which was denied
This doesn't normally happen, although the America East Conference did the same thing to Stony Brook and the Colonial Athletic Association to James Madison when they announced they were leaving those leagues at the end of the school year.
