The IUP baseball program will be sanctioned as it approaches the 50-game regular season limit, according to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
The PSAC made the announcement today, stating that IUP “failed to monitor its permissible NCAA contest limitations,” and will forfeit a game and face additional penalties. But the penalization will not affect postseason qualification.
The Crimson Hawks currently have a 20-27 record, but they are scheduled for a four-game PSAC series on Thursday and Friday this week against Gannon, which would take them to 51 games. The sanction requires IUP to forfeit one of those games. The forfeit loss (and Gannon’s forfeit win) will be reflected in the conference standings.
IUP will play a nine-inning game Thursday at IUP, followed by a doubleheader at Gannon on Friday.
The Crimson Hawks will take a 0.022 reduction to their winning percentage, part of the PSAC’s “nullification penalty” for not completing the mandated schedule. Nullification allows the NCAA and conferences to manage penalties while still allowing teams to compete.
Finally, as part of the sanctions, IUP will be permitted to play only 46 regular-season games in 2024.
“We believe the sanctions are appropriate,” PSAC commissioner Steve Murray said in a news release.
“There are teams in contention for a playoff spot that need to be considered and, frankly, IUP’s players, in no fault of their own, deserve a chance to control their fate.”
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