Freshman safety Artis Chambers will not play for the rest of the season because of an eligibility issue.
- Brian Merlos
- Safety Artis Chambers will not play the rest of the season because of a Big Ten eligibility issue. (BENJI DELL/Daily)
Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin informed the media about the decision during halftime of Michigan’s 28-16 victory over Northwestern on Saturday.
But Chambers may not be the biggest loss the Michigan football team suffers from the incident.
Since Chambers played in the team’s first four games, the Wolverines may face disciplinary action.
Chambers, who enrolled a semester early in January, was eligible under NCAA rules but not Big Ten rules. When the team found out on Thursday, it immediately took Chambers off its active roster, Martin said.
Martin said the incident had to do with Chambers being a mid-semester freshman, and how Michigan incorrectly applied an old rule.
Chambers was eligible for Michigan’s nonconference schedule, so the team’s 1-2 record will remain intact. Chambers’s participation in the Sept. 22 contest against Penn State was a Big Ten-sanctioned game, so that result could be contested.
Martin would not rule out the possibility of having to forfeit the team’s win over Penn State.
“We’ll have to wait and see what the Big Ten says,” Martin said. “I can’t rule anything out. I would think we’ll get resolution sometime this week.”
Martin also couldn’t elaborate on whether or not the eligibility issue was academic or not, citing federal privacy rules. Martin did emphasize that it was his fault, not Michigan coach Lloyd Carr’s.
Other officials, including Carr, are also remaining tight-lipped on the situation.
“I’m not going to get into that, other than to say it’s a real disappointment,” Carr said.
Chambers will remain in school and can practice with the team, but he can’t participate in games for the remainder of the season.
Chambers’s mother, Martha, declined to comment on the situation in a telephone interview with the Daily Saturday night.