re: UPDATE: Per ESPN, A.J. Haulcy will not play in the first half of the Clemson game

The ncaa is a criminal organization. frick them.

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This is confusing. Koki Riley Tweet

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What a clown world.

So a few things we have confirmation on between Pete Thamel and Koki Riley:

- Haulcy’s penalty did not carry a 1/2 game suspension at the time he was ejected.

- The Big 12 reviewed the penalty and upgraded it to a 1/2 game suspension, notifying the Houston coaching staff via mail in “early December” (note that Haulcy also announced his intent to transfer on December 8*).

*ETA: Actually this part is incorrect. I was looking at his previous transfer to Houston. Looks like he didn’t announce intent to transfer from Houston until the spring window which does make this whole thing… more bizarre.

- Pete Thamel gets a formal statement from the NCAA confirming all of this, while LSU tells Koki Riley they still haven’t received any confirmation from the NCAA themselves.

Other information that has been reported (though not everyone believes from what I’m seeing):

- Neither LSU nor Haulcy were notified of the Big 12’s decision to upgrade the penalty to a 1/2 game suspension.

- Someone on the Clemson side appears to have raised the issue.

I can understand BK’s comments about hoping “common sense prevails” after reading all of this. Unless there are clear rules to the contrary (which I have not seen) it’s absolutely plausible to me that the Houston staff might not have notified Haulcy or LSU about the suspension notice from the Big 12. I doubt the Big 12 would have notified LSU after Haulcy’s transfer either.

And under NCAA rules it’s not the NCAA’s responsibility to enforce suspensions - it’s the “assigning agent” who, in this case, is the Big 12’s officiating director/coordinator. So in this case we technically have a suspension being enforced against an LSU player by another conference, who quite possibly (likely IMO) would have never had reason to notify LSU of the suspension in the first place.

The whole thing is a little ridiculous.

This doesn’t seem enforceable.

Play him

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I don’t understand this. How does another school asking the NCAA about a ruling get it changed?

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because that's not what happened. Haulcy was ejected and it was recorded as non-flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct. After the game, Big 12 changed that to flagrant and fighting and sent a letter to Houston informing them. So, the only players involved with it going from unsportsmanlike to fighting is Houston and Big 12.

That LSU is finding out 9 months later is a question of how did that happen?

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Team found out about Safety's AJ Haulcy's status issue on Wednesday. - Kelly said they are waiting for further guidance from SEC and NCAA on his status and expect to get an answer very soon. - Background: AJ Haulcy was in an on-field altercation at the end of his last game last season at the University of Houston. Since Houston didn't have a bowl game, there is concern that Haulcy may have to sit out the first half of the Clemson game.

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How in the hell does a program as big as LSU not know that he wasn’t playing in the first half? If they just now found out about this, they might as well bring Les Miles back. Clueless. Fricking clueless.

Another wrinkle of the transfer portal era.

I think that’s what Kelly meant today. We asked SEC officials if it’s still valid & are waiting to hear from our conference officials.

According to the article from ESPN, for what it’s worth:

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NCAA rules are clear that a suspension follows a player after a transfer and there is no appeal process

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ESPN article Thursday 9:06 PM EST

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NCAA rules are clear that a suspension follows a player after a transfer and there is no appeal process

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And that bolded part is a huge problem. Depriving players of due process seems like it should be more of an issue than it apparently is.

Also from the article:

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Houston's coaching staff was made aware of the classification of his ejection and the first-half suspension in December 2024 in a formal letter from the NCAA. 

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Not saying it doesn't exist, but has the letter been published? Seems odd to refer to a nonspecific date in December. If the author had a copy of the letter, he would have written, "In a December 8 letter, the NCAA notified...."

Also, why would the NCAA be involved? The Conference had already issued the "clarification." Maybe just bad journalism, but this seems murky for a multi-million dollar business.