May 8, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. - Due to a recently adopted NCAA legislation, Illinois State women's basketball players Ashley Sandstead and Nicolle Lewis will each be granted an extra year of eligibility. Beginning in the 2007-08 campaign, Sandstead will have two full seasons of eligibility remaining, while Lewis will be eligible for three more years.
Lewis and Sandstead both suffered season-ending knee injuries in the 2005-06 campaign. Lewis tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the Redbirds' 83-71 win at UTEP on Dec. 18, 2005, the ninth game of the season. She had started the first eight contests of her career.
Sandstead played in the first nine games, starting eight, before injuring her ACL in practice.
"We are thrilled that the NCAA has taken a good hard look at this student welfare issue and have granted back an additional year to Ashley and Nicolle as well as the many other student athletes this had affected," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "Having to miss the majority of the 2005-06 season was extremely tough on both of those kids and their teammates. They have worked so hard and to think that their college career was going to be cut short because of an early injury was tough.
"I am very impressed with the support of our administration and how hard our compliance office has worked to stay on top of this issue. This decision by the NCAA is certainly going to affect our program in a very positive way. Both Ashley and Nicolle are not only great players but great ambassadors for our program and Illinois State University."
NCAA Proposal "2006-64 Eligibility" directly affected both players. Under the old rule, no more than two contests or dates of competition, or 20 percent of the institution's scheduled dates of competition (whichever was greater) determined the medical hardship waiver. If a student-athlete participated in 21 percent of the institution's events and suffered a season-ending injury, he or she was not eligible for the hardship waiver and was charged an entire year of eligibility.
On April 26, 2007, the new legislation was increased from the 20 to 30 percent threshold for medical hardships. Lewis' eight appearances and Sandstead's nine games played allowed both players to earn an extra year of eligibility.
Last season, Lewis was an honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and a scholar-athlete honoree. She tallied 13 double-digit scoring outings while averaging 2.0 blocks per conference outing, which was tied for the top mark in the Valley.
Sandstead appeared in 26 games in 2006-07, recording one start. She shot 36 percent from the field, and compiled a .348 clip from beyond the three-point arc.
