The Three Rivers men's basketball team has to vacate three wins from earlier this season after using an ineligible player.
It is the first time in school history that the men's basketball team will vacate a win. The Raiders self-reported the violation for games against Southwestern Illinois College, Hocking College and Lang Prep.
"It is almost tragic," Raiders coach Gene Bess said. "It is very, very difficult because our players have worked so hard and played so hard. One of them, the SWIC game, was a huge game for us. We played one of the best games we've played in three years. It is a tough thing for all of us, but we have checks and balances in place and this one flew into the radar. It happened and I'm glad we found it and are doing the right thing."
In a letter sent by Bess to the athletic directors of the three schools, as well as NJCAA Assistant Executive Director Brian Beck and NJCAA Region XVI Director Pat Smith, Bess says a walk-on player became academically ineligible after dropping below the minimum 12 credit hour limit Nov. 13.
The student then played in the games on Nov. 13, Nov. 23 and Dec. 3. By NJCAA rule, Three Rivers "is required to forfeit the resulting win in the contest. All public records will be adjusted to show this forfeit," the letter states. Records now have Three Rivers losing 2-0 in each of those games.
The player did not play in four other wins between Nov. 13 and when the letter was sent out Thursday.
Assistant coach Brian Bess caught the problem while checking up on grades, Gene Bess said.
"As athletic director I am supposed to be in charge of all that and I take the blame," Gene Bess said. "We have four, five people working closely with our guys and sometimes things kind of happen."
In the three forfeits, the player played a combined 7 minutes and 30 seconds. He was 1 for 3 shooting for three points with an assist. The player will not be on the team next semester.
"The people in charge of our rules and regulations would not want him back out (on the team)," Bess said. "He knew he had to have 12 hours and somehow or another ignored it. It is a tough thing to go through. I hate it for our fans and I hate it for our players."
Bess now has a career record of 1,262-374.
Ironically, Bess benefited from three forfeits in the past.
In 2013-14, the Raiders had a 109-104 loss to Indian Hills (Iowa) turned into a win by forfeit. Also that season, College of Faith took a 2-0 forfeit loss instead of playing the Raiders. Mineral Area also had to forfeit an 82-71 win to Three Rivers to open region play in 2006-07.
While it is the first time Three Rivers has vacated a win, the program has self-reported violations in the past.
The men's basketball program lost one scholarship and was put on probation for two years after a self-reported recruiting violation in 2004 in which a booster's plane was used to transport three recruits.
In 2011, the program lost four scholarships for three violations found in a state audit while the program was on probation. The violations were from the Booster Club paying for dental expenses for a tooth broken during a game, health insurance costs for student-athletes as well as tuition costs at another institution. In all, the Booster Club spent $6,403 during a three-year period, the audit showed.
Last season, Three Rivers won its first region title since 2012 but lost the district playoff.
The Raiders opened this season 1-2 with losses to No. 13 Tallahassee (Fla.) and John A. Logan (Ill.) then won eight straight before a 95-81 loss at 15th-ranked Logan on Tuesday.
The three vacated wins were all by 20-plus points. The Raiders beat Lang 92-71 and Hocking 102-58 at the Bess Activity Center and Southeastern 106-90 in St. Louis.
Three Rivers returns to the court Jan. 3 at Wabash Valley (Ill.) before opening Region XVI play at Mineral Area three days later.