Florida State defends bowl eligibility in statement
Florida State says that those who reported they weren’t actually bowl eligible overlooked an important aspect of the NCAA rule.
Reporting from r/CFB on Thursday indicated that Florida State was not actually bowl eligible because FCS opponent Delaware State had not given out enough scholarships to count as a valid opponent in terms of eligibility.
On Friday, the Seminoles issued a statement arguing that the original math ignored non-athletic scholarships and other academic aid that counts toward the total.
“Florida State has received confirmation from Delaware State that the 90 percent requirement is satisfied for the 2017 season, allowing the victory to be used in determining bowl eligibility,” the school said in the statement, via Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press. “Media reports suggesting otherwise failed to account for a long-standing NCAA rules interpretation that permits institutions to use academic scholarships and other forms of non-athletics institutional aid received by student-athletes in the computation of this requirement. These media reports represent incomplete information, as they only reflect athletics scholarships received.”
It’s really about clearing the air at this point, as the 6-6 Seminoles will be playing in Wednesday’s Independence Bowl no matter what. Still, it’s not exactly great that they’re having to clarify their bowl eligibility days before the game itself.
