By Trey Wallace

Copyright outkick

The NCAA has once again become a laughingstock in college athletics, this time based off a number of Wofford basketball players being ruled ineligible because they lived off-campus. Just when it seemed the organization couldn’t get any worse, the reason behind the suspension of six Wofford athletes on Wednesday has come to light. The college basketball world was already watching closely after head coach Dwight Perry was fired last week. Now, thanks to Field of 68, we know why: players were punished for using their meal plans while living off-campus. According to the report from Field of 68, six Wofford players were told this summer that with their housing situation, they’d be put in rooms that were set aside for upperclassmen. College Athletes, NIL Money, The Price Of Criticism: Welcome To Pay-For-Play, And The Real World Then, they were given an opportunity to live in underclassmen dorms, which obviously don’t have the same amount of space as the others. The lawyer for these athletes, Mark Peper, told ‘Field of 68’ that coach Dwight Perry informed the players that they could move to an apartment off-campus in light of the smaller accommodations on-campus, which suited the players better. Obviously, they would have to pay for the housing, given that it was not on Wofford’s campus, which is usually how this works in college. The staff reportedly told the administration, but there was going to be a big problem that would arise. Since the NCAA is archaic, they still have rules in place regarding athletes who are living off-campus and how they are not allowed to use the campus meal-plan that should obviously come with the scholarship, no matter where they are living. On September 17, the NCAA informed the players they were ineligible, citing “impermissible benefits” tied to using their meal plans. The value of these so-called benefits? Between $84 and $108. Yes, really. It wasn’t like the athletes were selling their cards for cash. They were simply eating the meals that were already covered by their scholarships, or so they thought. This Is On The Wofford Administration, As Others Make Millions This fiasco falls squarely on Wofford’s administration. It’s their job to clarify housing and scholarship rules, not the players’. The administration and NCAA failed these athletes — punishing them over a technicality that makes no sense in the modern college sports landscape. This might be the dumbest thing I’ve seen the NCAA do in a very long time, and that’s saying something. Deeming players ineligible for eating? You’ve got to be kidding me. Did we forget that players are making millions this season to play college athletics? I know that meal-plan must be really hurting the school. What a joke. This might be one of the dumbest NCAA rulings in years. Dwight Perry is now out of a job. Six players are stuck in limbo. The transfer portal is more chaotic than ever. And yet, the NCAA is worried about meal plans. It’s time for the NCAA to get its act together. Reinstate these players immediately — or prepare for the lawsuit that’s undoubtedly coming.