Editor’s Note: This story was originally written in November of 2024 by students involved in QU Media. The story was held pending the results of the NCAA investigation into QU eligibility issues. You can read the NCAA report here.

Marina Oberschmid, a sophomore women’s soccer player, transferred to Quincy University after spending one year at a junior college in Texas. During her recruiting process, she was told that everything with her classes and eligibility was fine going into the season, but then she had an encounter before the first game.

“I met with the coach and another director on the first game. And then, they told me that I was not eligible to play. And so, I was confused and asked why and what the problem was. They told me that I did not take a science class. And then I got disappointed because I had already asked in February if everything was fine or if my transcript looked perfect, and they told me they had everything they needed,” Oberschmid said.

Oberschmid is one of at least fifty-three athletes whose eligibility status was in question in the Fall 2024 semester.

Before anyone can compete in any sport, they must become eligible through the NCAA Eligibility Center and their higher learning institution. Josh Rabe, Quincy University’s athletic director, oversees this process of getting the athletes eligible and able to perform on the field.

“The NCAA Eligibility Center, any student-athlete who wants to play Division I or Division II at college athletics has to register with. There is a fee associated with this. You get an NCAA ID number once you create an account and pay your fee. That is very important, both on the student athlete’s end and our end because that is the identifying number, and it also tracks and monitors all academic and amateurism certifications,” Rabe said.

Problems with incomplete eligibility records affected not only the transfers who came into QU but also those already playing for QU teams—one of those was Eva Norris, a sophomore goalkeeper on the Hawks women’s soccer team, who played in seven matches during the previous season.

“I came into this year thinking everything was okay with my eligibility, and then just before preseason, I got called into my coach’s office, and she said that something went wrong with my eligibility, and I was ineligible all of last year and that they don’t know what they can do to change it,” Norris said.

While the NCAA Eligibility Center manages the localization of all documents the athletes need, players say there is no communication between the athletic department and the athletes about this process. That caused fifty-three QU athletes and counting to have not only NCAA eligibility problems but institutional eligibility problems as well.

According to the QU athletic department, ineligible athletes could petition the NCAA to give them their eligibility back and take the blame for the ineligibility status. Some athletes said the university decided to take this course of action without their knowledge.

Ty Phillips, a senior football player, was also one of the athletes affected by the eligibility issue. He said he and other athletes were called into an emergency meeting.

“We walked in, and he had us sign a paper. He did not tell us what it was; he just had us sign it. And then we walked back. He had letters written out for us, and we just signed them,” Phillips said.

Students were told they could write a letter to the NCAA to acknowledge incomplete eligibility paperwork, but in some cases, like Phillips, that letter was already written for them. While this letter campaign worked for some athletes, meaning they could participate in their sport immediately, others were still deemed ineligible. The confusion over eligibility requirements caused some athletes to miss even more events the rest of the year.

Austin Haskins, a junior cross country/track and field athlete, wrote a letter to the NCAA pleading for his reinstatement but was denied. The athletic department said he had limited options.

“So, for indoor and outdoor, the two different sports, I must miss five indoor and four outdoor meets or four indoor and five outdoor meets. So that is 50% of my season. And I was told the other option was to redshirt the entire year. But I do not know if I want to return to being a fifth year. So, I am going to be able to compete in one indoor meet this year and, I think, three outdoor meets, and that is it,” Haskins said.

Affected athletes say they were punished for something that they believed was out of their control. Some of the athletes say the infractions ranged from a missing required course on a transcript, to incorrect amateur status as recorded with the NCAA Eligibility Center.

At least fifty-three, and maybe more, QU athletes have lost time in their sport. QU Athletics told QU Media that the department self-reported the inaccurate eligibility paperwork issue in an effort to reduce any penalties from an investigation.