Link
Sac State's ex-hockey team probed
By Sam Stanton -- Bee Staff Writer
Talk about thin ice: The captain of Sacramento State's hockey club was arrested last week on a grand theft charge, and the team itself was disbanded after administrators found that only three of its 28 members were students.
There's an investigation into whether a university official's name was forged on the team's roster, and school officials are trying to find out whether it's true that some players were recruited with the promise they could play without ever attending class.
Worst of all, the Hornet club apparently was ratted out by its archrival: UC Davis.
"To be honest, it's very embarrassing," said Lou Camera, director of student activities for California State University, Sacramento.
School officials say the scandal is unprecedented in the school's history of sponsoring athletic clubs. The clubs are separate from intercollegiate teams in sports such as football.
They also note that they moved quickly to look into allegations that only a handful of players were eligible to play. And they stressed that the grand theft charge against team captain Chris Perry is not connected with the team or the school.
The mess involves a Hornet ice hockey squad that has been growing in popularity this year, with a winning record and strong fan base flocking regularly to its matches at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena.
Until mid-February, the team appeared to be a rousing success, perhaps headed for the playoffs after posting an 18-9-1 record.
But then Ken Morton, recreational sports director for Sacramento State, got a phone call from someone at the University of California, Davis.
"It was brought to my attention on the 13th of February that we might have illegal players on our roster," Morton said.
After some investigation, Morton discovered that there was, indeed, a problem. Of the 28 players listed on the club's roster, only three were enrolled at the university. School rules require undergraduate participants in club sports to be enrolled in at least six credit hours of classes.
One player, Chris Obradovich, was quoted in the student newspaper, the State Hornet, as saying he was recruited from British Columbia.
"I was just tricked like everyone else," Obradovich was quoted as saying in a front-page State Hornet story that appeared Wednesday. "I didn't know I had to go to school."
Morton said he also spoke to Obradovich, who said he'd been assured he did not have to be a student.
"I find it possible that they believed it," Morton said. "They could have been deceived by someone."
But, he added, they clearly should have known better.
Team captain Perry, a graduate student in recreational leisure studies, has been the driving force behind the team, officials said, and now faces possible disciplinary action.
Perry did not respond to messages left at his home, and an official at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena, where Perry has been the operations coordinator, said he is on administrative leave.
Perry was arrested last week and charged with one count of grand theft related to a workers' compensation investigation involving about $13,000, the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Deputy District Attorney Hans Uthe said Perry is charged with accepting the money for a purported disability he suffered while playing with the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena Football League.
Uthe said Perry had been collecting disability for a knee injury, but that investigators discovered he was playing competitive hockey. Perry was released on bail from the South Lake Tahoe jail March 5, an official said.
Sacramento State officials said that when the team submitted its paperwork at the start of the academic year, the roster included at least 10 legitimate students.
Hockey is one of nine student-supported clubs at the school, and the club received $5,000 in student funds to help with operations. The rest of the club's approximately $20,000 budget comes from ticket receipts and other revenues from its games.
Teams playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association are required to submit a roster to the league by Jan. 31. Sacramento State's club submitted a roster of 28 players that was signed, as required, with the name of the university registrar to ensure all the names listed belonged to students.
But there was a problem.
"What they submitted was a forgery," said Camera, the director of student activities.
Camera said officials are not certain who submitted the paperwork, but they are sure the registrar never signed the roster.
Officials theorize that, over the course of the season, legitimate students dropped off the squad and the team began filling holes with other players.
The whole deal unraveled when Morton got the call from Nick Rood, captain and president of the hockey club at UC Davis.
Rood said he had good reason to be suspicious. The Sacramento State team had tried to recruit one of his players, supposedly telling the potential recruit that he didn't need to be enrolled at the university to play for the team.
Rood also was suspicious of the team's success this year, which included a 4-0 victory over UC Davis. The Hornets hadn't beaten UC Davis in six years, Rood said.
"So, I'm like, wow, where did these guys come from?" Rood said.
As it turns out, they came from mostly everywhere except Sacramento State.
Sac State's ex-hockey team probed
By Sam Stanton -- Bee Staff Writer
Talk about thin ice: The captain of Sacramento State's hockey club was arrested last week on a grand theft charge, and the team itself was disbanded after administrators found that only three of its 28 members were students.
There's an investigation into whether a university official's name was forged on the team's roster, and school officials are trying to find out whether it's true that some players were recruited with the promise they could play without ever attending class.
Worst of all, the Hornet club apparently was ratted out by its archrival: UC Davis.
"To be honest, it's very embarrassing," said Lou Camera, director of student activities for California State University, Sacramento.
School officials say the scandal is unprecedented in the school's history of sponsoring athletic clubs. The clubs are separate from intercollegiate teams in sports such as football.
They also note that they moved quickly to look into allegations that only a handful of players were eligible to play. And they stressed that the grand theft charge against team captain Chris Perry is not connected with the team or the school.
The mess involves a Hornet ice hockey squad that has been growing in popularity this year, with a winning record and strong fan base flocking regularly to its matches at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena.
Until mid-February, the team appeared to be a rousing success, perhaps headed for the playoffs after posting an 18-9-1 record.
But then Ken Morton, recreational sports director for Sacramento State, got a phone call from someone at the University of California, Davis.
"It was brought to my attention on the 13th of February that we might have illegal players on our roster," Morton said.
After some investigation, Morton discovered that there was, indeed, a problem. Of the 28 players listed on the club's roster, only three were enrolled at the university. School rules require undergraduate participants in club sports to be enrolled in at least six credit hours of classes.
One player, Chris Obradovich, was quoted in the student newspaper, the State Hornet, as saying he was recruited from British Columbia.
"I was just tricked like everyone else," Obradovich was quoted as saying in a front-page State Hornet story that appeared Wednesday. "I didn't know I had to go to school."
Morton said he also spoke to Obradovich, who said he'd been assured he did not have to be a student.
"I find it possible that they believed it," Morton said. "They could have been deceived by someone."
But, he added, they clearly should have known better.
Team captain Perry, a graduate student in recreational leisure studies, has been the driving force behind the team, officials said, and now faces possible disciplinary action.
Perry did not respond to messages left at his home, and an official at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena, where Perry has been the operations coordinator, said he is on administrative leave.
Perry was arrested last week and charged with one count of grand theft related to a workers' compensation investigation involving about $13,000, the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Deputy District Attorney Hans Uthe said Perry is charged with accepting the money for a purported disability he suffered while playing with the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena Football League.
Uthe said Perry had been collecting disability for a knee injury, but that investigators discovered he was playing competitive hockey. Perry was released on bail from the South Lake Tahoe jail March 5, an official said.
Sacramento State officials said that when the team submitted its paperwork at the start of the academic year, the roster included at least 10 legitimate students.
Hockey is one of nine student-supported clubs at the school, and the club received $5,000 in student funds to help with operations. The rest of the club's approximately $20,000 budget comes from ticket receipts and other revenues from its games.
Teams playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association are required to submit a roster to the league by Jan. 31. Sacramento State's club submitted a roster of 28 players that was signed, as required, with the name of the university registrar to ensure all the names listed belonged to students.
But there was a problem.
"What they submitted was a forgery," said Camera, the director of student activities.
Camera said officials are not certain who submitted the paperwork, but they are sure the registrar never signed the roster.
Officials theorize that, over the course of the season, legitimate students dropped off the squad and the team began filling holes with other players.
The whole deal unraveled when Morton got the call from Nick Rood, captain and president of the hockey club at UC Davis.
Rood said he had good reason to be suspicious. The Sacramento State team had tried to recruit one of his players, supposedly telling the potential recruit that he didn't need to be enrolled at the university to play for the team.
Rood also was suspicious of the team's success this year, which included a 4-0 victory over UC Davis. The Hornets hadn't beaten UC Davis in six years, Rood said.
"So, I'm like, wow, where did these guys come from?" Rood said.
As it turns out, they came from mostly everywhere except Sacramento State.
Facebook
Twitter