BEN MAUK LOSES FINAL APPEAL FOR 6th SEASON

August 8, 2008


Ben Mauk threw for over 3,100 yards and 31 touchdowns helping lead head coach Brian Kelly and his Cincinnati Bearcats to a surprising top 20 rankins in the final polls.

Mauk broke the arm and separated the shoulder in the season opener for Wake Forest in 2006, then transferred to Cincinnati, sitting out the rest of the season, unsure whether he would ever be able to play again. He turned in a spectacular 2007 season, even as the arm still gave him trouble,but he improved as the year progressed.

After the 2007 season, Mauk appealed to the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility because of the injuries, but was turned down. He appealed a second time on a different basis, clainimg that he redshirted his freshman year at Wake Forest in part because of different injuries, although no injury claim was made when declaring the redhsirt season by Wake. The NCAA again turned him down.

Finally, Mauk took his appeal to the NCAA’s reinstatement committee, which decided Friday that there wasn’t enough medical documentation to support his claim that he missed his freshman year because of injury and the NCAA Denies Mauk's Final Eligibility Appeal (Yahoo! AP Story).

The ruling means that Cincinnati will head into the season with senior Dustin Grutza as the No. 1 quarterback. Mauk replaced Grutza as the starter last season.

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."