On Aug. 30, The Collegian reported that the Bethel football team had vacated its 51-0 win over Atlantis University in the season opener. Since then, the NAIA has formally ruled on the situation:
“Competing in the game/opponent in question is not in and of itself a violation, it would just be considered a normal varsity game that will still count towards [Bethel’s] frequency of play limits. The non-countable component of [Atlantis] just will not permit Bethel to count the game towards any championship qualifying stats or standings.”
Regarding the ruling, Bethel Athletics provided The Collegian with the following statement:
“To avoid future confusion within the Bethel record books, Bethel College Athletics has independently chosen not to count the win within the program’s overall win total nor include any of the statistical information within Bethel football record books.”
The original story can be found below.
