Wisconsin Appeal Denied

From: The Ice House Blog
by Todd Milewski

The answer is in from the WCHA's faculty representatives: the University of Wisconsin's hockey team's protest has been denied.

The Badgers were seeking a point in the standings from last Friday's 3-2 loss to Denver, in which a tying UW goal in the final second was wrongly waved off, the WCHA later admitted.

It seems that the issue came down to the faculty reps, who rule on protests, not holding the power to change the result of a game. That seems to be confirmed by the NCAA rule book, which says in Rule 5, Section 3, "The referee(s) decision is final; there is no appeal." Also, Rule 6, Section 39 reads, "Protests are not recognized or allowed."

I'm still waiting for word from the NCAA on whether the league held the power to restore a point on the league record, and whether that would have counted toward the RPI and Pairwise Rankings used to select the field for the NCAA tournament.

Here's the official wording from the WCHA:

In response to the letter of protest filed with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association from the University of Wisconsin regarding the circumstances surrounding the Wisconsin vs Denver intercollegiate hockey game on Friday, Jan. 11, Bill Hudson, WCHA Chair, and the member Faculty Athletic Representatives made the following decision:

After a review of both the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations book and the WCHA Handbook, the above has confirmed Commissioner McLeod's interpretation/decision and affirmed that it is not the prerogative of the Association to change the outcome of a game.

In the 2006-08 NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations book, under Rule 6/Playing Rules, HR-81, SECTION 39: Protests are not recognized or allowed.

Further, under Rule 5/Officials and Officiating Systems, SECTION 3: The duties of the referee(s) are as follows:
under a. The referee(s) decision is final; there is no appeal.

In the WCHA Handbook, Code of Regulations:
1. Playing Rules
a. NCAA playing rules will govern play in all intercollegiate ice hockey games. Conferences and individual institutions are prohibited from modifying any playing rules except by permission of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee.

The WCHA earlier acknowledged the error that was made and regrets the circumstance. This decision is final and the matter is considered closed.