Coastal Carolina University Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek says CCU guard Desmond Holloway has been suspended indefinitely for "an eligibility issue."
CCU had just eight players available for Thursday night's game against NC Central, seven scholarship players and one walk-on player. Coastal scored a 94-59 win over NC Central to improve to 25-3 overall. Holloway is CCU's leading scorer averaging just under 19 points a game and 7 rebounds a night. No details were given regarding why Holloway was suspended and what may be the source of the eligibility issue.
"There's a student athlete eligibility issue involving Desmond Holloway," Yurachek said. "Subsequently, we had to rule him ineligible. We have started the reinstatement process with the NCAA. I really can't comment much further on the reinstatement process to protect the integrity of that process."
Sports Director Rich Chrampanis offers his analysis on the Holloway situation
When you get an email at 6:28 pm, it usually means bad news that was purposely held off to avoid the 6pm news cycle. The red flag is the fact that this is an eligibility issue. That is a very broad subject and the reality is that right now there are no details that are going to be divulged.
At halftime, I peppered CCU athletic director Hunter Yurachek from as many angles as I could, but to his credit, he stuck with the NCAA guidelines of keeping any kind of investigation an internal matter. If Yurachek divulged any details of why Holloway was ineligble or any timelines it could hurt further down the road when the NCAA makes its decision. There is no timetable as to when a decision will come down, and the NCAA has a track record of working on its own timetable.
Cliff Ellis could not comment on the Holloway situation at all. Even off the record before taping the Cliff Ellis Show, the coach would not divulge even the most minor detail on the story. This is all understandable and not surprising. Until the NCAA states its ruling, there will be absolutely no details coming from the CCU camp.
At this point everything is speculation. All any CCU fan can do is wonder and think of a variety of questions:
Was this violation self-reported?
When did the alleged infraction take place (if there was any infraction)?
If ruled ineligble, will CCU have to forfeit games that Holloway played in?
When will the NCAA make its ruling?
Will Desmond Holloway be able to play again this season?
I stated this at the end of the 11pm newscast and I want to reiterate: The penalty could be as severe as forfeiting every game that Holloway played in or it could be a one game suspension and Holloway is back in the lineup on Tuesday night at UNC-Asheville. Or it could be something in between. All Coastal can do is waitt for the phone to ring from the NCAA and take it from there.
