The Tallahassee Community College women’s basketball team was put on probation for one year by the NJCAA for playing in the postseason with an ineligible player, the school announced Wednesday.
The player in question is reigning conference player of the year Shamar Harris, according to officials close to the Panhandle Conference.
An instructor dropped Harris from a class four hours before the Lady Eagles played Santa Fe Commu-nity College in the first round of the FCCAA/Region 8 tournament on March 6. That game, a 69-62 TCC win, has been forfeited.
Harris transferred to Northwest Florida State College, formerly Okaloosa-Walton College, this past summer. She was named the conference freshman of the year and second team All American after averag-ing 16.3 points per game.
TCC will miss the 2009 FCCAA/Region 8 tournament as a result of its probation. According to the NJCAA, any team participating in a postseason game with an ineligible player will automatically miss the following year’s championship season.
“We’re extremely disappointed,” TCC coach Teresa Atkinson said in a release by the school. “But our team is still going compete and play hard every night.”
TCC does not have a system in place for the athletic and academic departments to inform each other of students who are struggling.
“We did all of our eligibility checks before leaving for the state tournament and we were fine,” TCC Ath-letic Director Brian Anweiler said.
“Class attendance is very important at Tallahassee Community College and it is expected by our student-athletes.”
TCC’s appeal to the NJCAA was denied and the probation does not follow Harris to NFSC.
