The Idaho Vandals will not be eligible to participate in college football’s postseason in 2014 due to a failure to meet the APR standards established by the NCAA.
In addition to a postseason ban for 2014, Idaho will lose four hours of practice time each week.
“My commitment to education mirrors my commitment to football,” Idaho head coach Paul Petrino said, according to Josh Wright of The Spokesman-Review. “Our players will attend class. They will graduate.”
According to the NCAA rules, a school’s sports program must maintain at least a .930 APR (out of a possible 1.000) over a four-year period in order to maintain eligibility for postseason play in their respective sports. A two-year score of .940 or above would also allow a program to be eligible for postseason competition. It is unknown what the scores for Idaho’s football program were at this time, although the university was notified Thursday of the decision.
Idaho is the second football program to be prohibited from postseason play for the 2014 season. UNLV was given a ban earlier this month. Penn State is also ineligible for postseason play in 2014, although for different reasons. Penn State enters the third year of a four-year postseason ban stemming from the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2011.
Idaho last played in a bowl game at the end of the 2009 season. Idaho has gone 10-39 since. Idaho played as an independent in 2013 as the WAC crumbled during conference realignment. The program joins the Sun Belt this year as a football-only member.
