COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Mauk denied eligibility again

Published 11:46 pm Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk, who sued the NCAA after being denied a sixth season of eligibility, lost another appeal Tuesday when a judge in his hometown ruled against him.

Hardin County Judge William Hart refused to grant a permanent injunction allowing Mauk to rejoin the Bearcats.

Mauk, who says he missed two seasons because of injuries, was turned down by the NCAA five times before he asked the court in Kenton, Ohio, for help.

He testified last week that a foot injury prevented him from playing during his freshman season in 2003 at Wake Forest, where he played before transferring to Cincinnati. He led the Bearcats to 10 wins last season and a No. 17 final ranking.

Mauk didn’t prove that he would lose out on a chance at pro football by not playing another year at Cincinnati, the judge said.

Kevin Murphy, an attorney for Mauk, said he was shocked by the decision. He said he was traveling and had not seen the ruling. He said he hasn’t decided whether to appeal.

NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said Tuesday that members of the reinstatement committee had reviewed Mauk’s appeal carefully and determined another year of eligibility was not warranted.

“The NCAA argued strongly at trial that no evidence of irreparable harm to Mr. Mauk had been produced, which is required before issuing an injunction,” he said.

Carol Iwaoka, chair of the committee, said last week that Mauk was turned down primarily because he had been cleared to play during his freshman season and was on the team’s travel squad.

It was unclear whether Mauk would have taken the field even if the judge had sided with him. Cincinnati officials have not allowed Mauk to practice while the case is the courts.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, are thin at quarterback after starter Dustin Grutza broke his right leg in a 52-26 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday. Grutza, who lost his job to Mauk last year, is expected to undergo surgery and miss more than a month.

Murphy argued in court that the NCAA has been unwilling to listen to Mauk’s arguments and treated him differently from other athletes who have been granted another year of eligibility.

NCAA attorney Linda Salfrank has said that athletes have a five-year window to play once they arrive on campus and that Mauk used up his time.

Mauk played two seasons at Wake Forest before he broke his throwing arm and missed the entire 2006 season.

He transferred to Cincinnati because he had lost his starting job and overcame his extensive injuries to become one of college football’s biggest success stories a year ago. He threw for 31 touchdowns and 3,121 yards.

Notes

MINNESOTA: Running back Duane Bennett will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury. The Gophers’ leading rusher and second-leading receiver tore a ligament in Saturday’s victory over Bowling Green, though coach Tim Brewster did not specify which knee was injured. Bennett led the Gophers (2-0) with 140 yards rushing and also had 12 catches for 125 in the first two games of the season, both victories. Junior Jay Thomas and freshmen Shady Salamon and DeLeon Eskridge will fill in for Bennett.

OHIO STATE: Buckeyes tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells has been given the OK to play in the showdown at No. 1 USC on Saturday night. Wells, who rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago, went down with a foot injury in the second half of the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ opener against Youngstown State and did not suit up when Ohio State struggled to beat Ohio University 26-14 last week. Wells would seem to be a weapon the Buckeyes (2-0) cannot do without against the fearsome Trojans (1-0) in the first meeting between the two old rivals in 18 years.