Virginia AG Miyares hires legislation agency to symbolize James Madison in bowl eligibility dispute
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RICHMOND — The Virginia Attorney General has employed a legislation agency to symbolize James Madison University concerning the NCAA’s determination Wednesday evening to not grant the Dukes a waiver from a rule that forestalls the unbeaten No. 18 soccer crew from an automated bowl berth.
In a three-page letter, the legislation agency Hunton Andrews Kurth LLC argues for James Madison’s inclusion in bowl consideration based mostly on its 10-0 report, No. 18 nationwide rating and unprecedented success in its two-year course of reclassifying from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Bowl Subdivision, the sport’s high tier.
“We fully hope and expect that the various Committees and the NCAA as a whole will do the right thing and allow JMU to compete in whatever bowl game its performance warrants,” the letter says. Failing that, “JMU is prepared to promptly file a lawsuit in the Western District of Virginia asserting that the bowl ban violates the antitrust and, potentially, other laws.”
In an announcement, Attorney General Jason Miyares mentioned the NCAA‘s denial of a waiver “demonstrates yet again abject failures to act in the best interest of the nation’s student-athletes. The NCAA has proven it is a broken institution which continues to make arbitrary and capricious decisions that are anti-competitive and have a profoundly negative impact on student-athletes, JMU, the Commonwealth of Virginia, collegiate football and athletes as a whole.”
Without a passable decision, Miyares mentioned, “I am prepared to expose the NCAA’s unlawful conduct and seek justice for James Madison University through litigation, provided the University authorize me to do so.”
In an announcement Wednesday evening from the Division I Board of Directors Administrative Committee, the committee mentioned to two-year requirement is to permit packages shifting up to make sure they’ve a sustainable plan past the taking part in subject, similar to infrastructure in place, satisfactory scholarship funding and medical and psychological well being assets.
“Division I members continually assess transition requirements, and the board continues to believe that if Division I members do not think the requirements are appropriate, those concerns should be addressed through rules changes rather than waiver requests,” the assertion mentioned.
The committee additionally famous that James Madison and Jacksonville State, whose waiver request was additionally denied, would possibly nonetheless have entry to bowl video games if there are usually not sufficient groups to fulfill the six-wins requirement to fill all slots.