The NAIA has ruled that Rocky Mountain College must forfeit its Aug. 31 win over Southern Oregon after the school reported it had used an ineligible player.
Frontier Conference Commissioner Kent Paulson commended the Billings school for reporting the error.
Athletic director Bobby Beers said a clerical error resulted in some of the player’s fall classes not showing up on his transcript, leaving him below the minimum number of credits required by the NAIA to be considered a full-time student.
Beers said the confusion probably stemmed from the player’s initial plans to graduate last spring.
The decision leaves both Carroll College of Helena and Southern Oregon of Ashland, Ore., with 5-1 records in Frontier Conference play. No. 7 Carroll is 6-1 overall while No. 22 Southern Oregon is 5-2. The teams play on Nov. 2 in Helena.
Rocky Mountain, ranked 10th in this week’s NAIA poll, falls to 4-2 in the conference and 5-2 overall.
The league said Tuesday that Rocky Mountain has notified the NAIA it intends to appeal the forfeit.