Oct. 3, 2001

Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame senior Ryan Humphrey (Tulsa, Okla.) will miss the first two regular-season games of the 2001-02 men’s basketball campaign as the result of a secondary violation of the NCAA’s outside competition rule for men’s basketball.

The Irish captain will sit out the New Hampshire (Nov. 16) and Cornell (Nov. 19) contests to start the regular season. He will be allowed to participate in the team’s first two exhibition games on Nov. 1 (International Select) and Nov. 8 (EA Sports All-Stars).

Humphrey has been declared ineligible by the NCAA for two games because his participation in a summer league in Los Angeles, Calif., violated the NCAA’s 100-mile radius rule. The NCAA rule permits a basketball student-athlete to participate in one NCAA-sanctioned summer league which is located within 100 air miles of a student-athlete’s legal residence or institution’s campus.

While visiting relatives in Los Angeles during the summer, Humphrey competed in two games in an NCAA-sanctioned league in that area. The violation occurred because the league was located outside the 100-mile radius of his residence of Tulsa and Notre Dame’s campus. Prior to the start of the summer, Humphrey had sought and received permission to play in a summer league in Chicago, but never participated in any games.

Humphrey, a third-team all-BIG EAST selection last season, heads into the upcoming season as Notre Dame’s top returning scorer and rebounder after averaging 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds in 2000-01.

Statement from Ryan Humphrey: “I want to begin by first apologizing to my coaches, the University, and most importantly, my teammates. I’m embarrassed by this incident and take full responsibility for what occurred. I knew and understood what the NCAA ruling outlines regarding summer league competition, but when I played in the league in Los Angeles, I forgot about the 100-mile radius rule. It was an honest oversight on my part, but a mistake nonetheless. “I’m disappointed that I won’t be out there for the first two games of the season, but I’ll be on the bench supporting my teammates.”

Statement from Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey: “We’re obviously disappointed that Ryan won’t be out there on the court for our first two games. Although he (Ryan) did not violate the NCAA’s outside competition rule intentionally, Ryan and I both understand that there are certain consequences and decisions that we have to live with regarding that mistake.