TORONTO, ON  – The McMaster Marauders men’s basketball team were rolling this season, but they’ve been given a setback. 

On Saturday, U SPORTS and the OUA announced the Marauders had played an ineligible player in two of their games in the 2022-23 season, featuring a  76-69 loss on Jan. 18 to the Brock Badgers and a 101-56 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds Jan. 21

McMaster has been given forfeits on both of those games, dropping to a record of 10-7 and into fourth in the OUA Central Division. 

The athletics department self-disclosed the infraction, saying that a player had become ineligible for OUA and U SPORTS competition due to “a brief course load violation.”

“The student-athlete’s eligibility has since been reinstated after complying with all academic standing requirements,” McMaster added. “We are maintaining the confidentiality of the individual as we would do in any circumstance involving a student.”

Not the first time

While the basketball forfeits could end up costing the McMaster Marauders a spot in the playoffs, it’s not the first time the athletics department has been punished for an ineligible athlete’s participation. 

In September, U SPORTS handed the football team two forfeits, pushing them to 0-2 out of the gate, despite a win against the York Lions.

The athletic department also self-disclosed the violation in the fall. Still, it is rare to see a school punished twice for ineligible school violations in a single athletics season and academic year. 

Yet, the most significant ineligible player violation came outside of the OUA this year, with the 2021 U SPORTS Women’s Soccer Champions, the MacEwan Griffins, pushed out of Canada West playoff contention after playing an ineligible student-athlete in most of their matches. 

The McMaster Marauders return to OUA men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon against the Windsor Lancers.