Cal U. not picked for Division II playoffs
California University football coach Mike Kellar was not happy when the NCAA selected Bowie State ahead of the Vulcans for the Divison II playoffs Sunday.
California University football coach Mike Kellar was not happy when the NCAA selected Bowie State ahead of the Vulcans for the Divison II playoffs Sunday.
The regular season ended for California University’s football team Saturday after a 56-24 victory over Lock Haven.
The Vulcans’ playoff hopes came to an end Sunday afternoon, when the NCAA decided to keep Bowie State, which used an ineligible player for half the season, over California in the Super Region 1 pairings.
As you might guess, Cal head coach Mike Kellar was unhappy.
“I’ll just never understand how a team could be 9-1 and have played an ineligible player (and still get into the postseason),” Kellar said in a phone interview Sunday. “I don’t know what message that sends. I just really believed the NCAA would step in and do the right thing.”
The NCAA changed the penalty for using an ineligible player, favoring something called nullification rather then forfeiting games. Nullification is the process where the winning percentage is lowered by 0.023 for every relevant game an ineligible player competes.
Kellar thinks the NCAA is creating a problematic situation by allowing a team with an ineligible player into the playoffs.
“There doesn’t seem to be a deterrent,” he said. “Their record is showing 9-1, which is their actual record. I don’t know how you play an ineligible player and your record (stays) at 9-1. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Kellar said he fills out numerous forms and is meticulous about keeping track of whether his players have eligibility.
“I’m not saying that couldn’t happen but you understand that if it happens, there is a punishment for that,” Kellar said. “I don’t see what punishment (Bowie State) got for doing that.”
Kellar said when he saw Charleston was given the No. 4 seed during the pairings broadcast, it meant Bowie State made it.
“It’s a tough job picking the seven best teams out of a region as big as ours,” Kellar said. “I have no problem with Bowie getting in without the problem they had. … What deterrent is there to stop teams from doing that in the future. I’m not saying they did it on purpose. I don’t believe that at all. As much as I have been worried about playing an ineligible player, I guess I shouldn’t be worried about it.”
Cal entered the game ranked No. 8 in the Super Region 1 poll. The Vulcans needed to move up one spot to make the playoffs. No. 2 Bowie State, No. 9 New Haven and No. 10 Glenville State each lost Saturday. Bowie State was beaten by Winston Salem State, 17-14, in the CIAA championship game.
Cal won its last four games, including handing Clarion its first loss of the season. The Vulcans finished the season at 8-3 and are one of two teams with eight wins not to get into the playoffs from the region. Shippensburg was the other. Cal’s losses came against Slippery Rock (56-21), IUP (20-15) and Bloomsburg (20-13).
“We felt like we were playing hot at the right time,” Kellar said. “We could have won the Bloomsburg and IUP game and inevitably, it’s on us. But we were peaking at the right time and we’re perplexed how that could be. I talked to enough coaches and some people … and they didn’t understand how Bowie could get in.”
Slippery Rock, the PSAC champion, and Indiana, which finished second in the PSAC West, received berths. First-round games begin Saturday.