Pepperdine bans baseball, men’s volleyball and men’s tennis teams from postseason

Pepperdine has imposed postseason bans on its baseball, men’s volleyball and men’s tennis teams, the school announced Thursday, because it had not properly reported to the NCAA how scholarships were awarded to some athletes.

Jerry Derloshon, Pepperdine’s senior director of public affairs, said the mistake — an “administrative error that was completely inadvertent� — was recently discovered by a staff member and reported immediately to the NCAA.

“It is most unfortunate and regrettable,� Steve Potts, Pepperdine’s director of athletics, said in a statement.

Players and teams were informed Wednesday.

“It may seem to be severe,� Derloshon said, “but I think the decision was that something had to be done and a statement had to be made and it had to happen quickly.�

Citing privacy concerns, he would not release the number of student athletes or the number of scholarships affected.

In a statement, the West Coast Conference said Pepperdine’s baseball results will count in the league standings. However, if the Waves finish in first place, the second-place team would receive the WCC’s automatic bid to an NCAA regional. Pepperdine players are still eligible for postseason awards.

The Waves had a 13-11 record heading into a three-game series against Brigham Young beginning Thursday afternoon.

The men’s tennis team, which had been a contender for the national championship, and the men’s volleyball team are nationally ranked.

The act of imposing sanctions is used to stave off potentially harsher sanctions that could be issued by the NCAA Committee on Infractions following an investigation.

Pepperdine has not had a major infraction case, according to the NCAA’s online database.

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