Simmons Granted NCAA Eligibility Extension Waiver
Nov 11, 2013 | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha senior guard Justin Simmons has been granted an extra semester of eligibility by the NCAA to play the entirety of his senior season, it was announced Sunday night. The waiver was granted after the University of Nebraska Omaha appealed the initial decision by the NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement to decline an extension of Simmons' five-year eligibility clock.
Simmons' Division I eligibility limit was in question due to the start of his career as a Division III track & field athlete at Concordia (Wis.). He enrolled at Concordia in the spring of 2009, then competed in his first season of basketball in 2009-10. Simmons completed a second season as a member of the track team in 2010 before leaving school due to financial and personal reasons.
Simmons then played one season of basketball at Butler Community College before transferring to UNO in 2012-13. As a junior last season, he led the team in scoring and earned second-team All-Summit honors.
“We are proud that the NCAA chose to grant this eligibility waiver for Justin,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Josh White said. “He is deserving of this after what he has brought to the team on the court and in the way he has proven himself as a hard-working student-athlete. This was the result of diligent work by many people at our University, especially the members of our compliance staff, senior administration and Chancellor John Christensen.”
“I'm grateful for this opportunity to finish out my career at UNO in the best way possible,” Simmons said. “I'm glad we kept fighting even after the initial request was turned down by the NCAA, and I'm ready to compete with my teammates and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves this season.”
Simmons' Division I eligibility limit was in question due to the start of his career as a Division III track & field athlete at Concordia (Wis.). He enrolled at Concordia in the spring of 2009, then competed in his first season of basketball in 2009-10. Simmons completed a second season as a member of the track team in 2010 before leaving school due to financial and personal reasons.
Simmons then played one season of basketball at Butler Community College before transferring to UNO in 2012-13. As a junior last season, he led the team in scoring and earned second-team All-Summit honors.
“We are proud that the NCAA chose to grant this eligibility waiver for Justin,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Josh White said. “He is deserving of this after what he has brought to the team on the court and in the way he has proven himself as a hard-working student-athlete. This was the result of diligent work by many people at our University, especially the members of our compliance staff, senior administration and Chancellor John Christensen.”
“I'm grateful for this opportunity to finish out my career at UNO in the best way possible,” Simmons said. “I'm glad we kept fighting even after the initial request was turned down by the NCAA, and I'm ready to compete with my teammates and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves this season.”
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
