January 25, 1999
Release: Upon Receipt

OVERSCHEDULED FURMAN BASKETBALL PROGRAM
TO CANCEL ONE OF NINE REMAINING GAMES

GREENVILLE -- The Furman University men's basketball team will have to cancel one of its nine remaining games due to a recently discovered error that determined the school had scheduled 29 games this season ‹ one more than the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season limit of 28 contests.

Furman's scheduling mistake centered around its participation in the first annual SoCon Holiday Hoops Tournament, held in Greenville in late November. New NCAA rules enacted in August specified that such events would count as one game toward a school's maximum number of season contests. Previously, the NCAA had exempted such tournament participation from counting toward a program's maximum 28 contests.

"Even though the rule had changed and our participation in the tournament had already been arranged, we were aware of the new rule and knew the limit but somewhere along the line we did not identify our mistake," said Furman vice president of intercollegiate athletics Dr. John M. Block. "I want to make it clear, however, that as vice president of intercollegiate athletics I assume ultimate responsibility for this mistake and I want to emphasize that it will not happen again."

"We made an honest mistake, and we'll certainly learn from it," said Furman head coach Larry Davis Tuesday afternoon. "The new rule was put in front of us on paper but it (the overscheduling) was an oversight on our part and it wasn't caught by anyone above us, including the conference office, until it was too late."

Furman officials were notified of the error earlier this month following a schedule review by the conference office, but according to Block the notification came too late to take corrective action involving a non-conference game.

"We weren't made aware of our mistake soon enough to avoid a difficult situation in the conference schedule. Now it's up to the Southern Conference, starting with the basketball committee, to decide what our recourse and penalty will be in this situation."

As of Tuesday afternoon it was unclear what game Furman would be required to cancel. The Paladins' five remaining home contests include games against The Citadel (Jan. 29), Chattanooga (Feb. 5), the College of Charleston (Feb. 12), Georgia Southern (Feb. 18), and East Tennessee State (Feb. 22). Furman has four away games left on its schedule, including UNC Greensboro (Jan. 31), Western Carolina (Feb. 7), Wofford (Feb. 14), and VMI (Feb. 26).

Furman is currently 8-13 on the season and 1-6 in Southern Conference South Division play. The Paladins dropped a 77-50 decision to the College of Charleston Monday night in Charleston.