CBU soccer, Holland College baseball teams forced to forfeit games over ineligible players

Last fall, The Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers soccer team won their second-ever national title; this time on their home field.

On Friday, the mood on the field was different.

"To see a team that was ranked I think, one, two or three in the country, to drop to unranked is really unfortunate”, said Wes Stanford, a Cape Breton sports fan who attends most Capers soccer games with his son.

U Sports, the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, announced Thursday that the Capers have forfeited six regular season games. Four wins and two draws for the 2024 season are now recorded as losses.

U Sports said the decision came from the use of two ineligible athletes but wouldn’t offer any further specifics.

"Without knowing all the intricacies and nuances of the situation, it's tough to comment at this point”, Stanford said.

The Holland College Hurricanes baseball team was recently forced to forfeit their entire 2024 season. They are disqualified from the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Association championship taking place from Friday to Sunday.

The coach of the Hurricanes, Tyler Johnston, has since resigned. He said the school misinterpreted a rule regarding players who were splitting their studies between Holland College and the University of Prince Edward Island.

"It was not an intent to deceive”, said Tyler Johnston. “And that these players would have been on the roster regardless as they would have just taken enough programs to be full-time at Holland College."

Holland College confirmed it will not be appealing the league’s decision in an interview with CTV news.

"It's just a huge oversight, and truly it's just really heartbreaking for guys who worked hard and frankly should have had a good chance at a championship this year,” Johnston said, adding that he and his players disagree with the school’s decision not to appeal.

With league standings changed to reflect the forfeit losses, the CBU Capers record is officially four wins and six losses, placing them outside of the final playoff spot with two games left to be played.

CBU said in an emailed statement to CTV Atlantic that it maintains all U SPORTS policies regarding eligibility were followed and the school disagrees with the U SPORTS decision. They said they are considering options to further challenge the decision.

"It's unfortunate, but I think if anyone's going to turn a program around it's those two,” Stanford said, referring to the team’s coaches.

The Atlantic University Sport (AUS) soccer championship is set for Oct. 24-27 in Fredericton.

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