BEN MAUK STATUS UPDATE

June 23, 2008


The Cincinnati Enquirer updates readers on the Ben Mauk appeal process. Mauck is attempting to receive a 6th year in order to compete his four years of eligibility. The NCAA has turned down the request twice in 2 1/2 months and Mauk will have a final attempt this week.

Mauk's Bearcat Fate Due no later than this Tursday when Mauk and UC will present their case to a five-person Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee armed with a precedent they believe closely mirrors Mauk's situation.

Mauk's request for a medical hardship waiver was turned down by the NCAA on April 30 because Mauk lacked contemporaneous documentation from his former school, Wake Forest, to support his claim that an injury prevented him from competing during his freshman year in 2003.

Mauk then will get 10 minutes to plead his case.

A ruling is expected within several hours after the completion of the hearing.

If Mauk is granted the extra year of eligibility, it will make a huge difference in UC's prospects for this football season. Mauk passed for 3,121 yards and a school-record 31 touchdowns last year.

"It puts us in a position where, from an offensive standpoint, we return arguably the best quarterback in the (Big East)," UC head coach Brian Kelly told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "the most productive. And we return a veteran defense. It puts us in a position to win a championship. There's no question."