The postseason ban was issued for a violation of NJCAA rules committed by Indian Hills stemming from incidents that occurred following the Warriors' game at Southeastern CC on Feb. 16. An on-court melee after that game resulted in IHCC's Ronald Ross being arrested.
Ross was jailed after his arrest and was released after IHCC president Dr. Jim Lindenmayer posted bail for Ross. Dr. Lindenmayer subsequently self-reported the violation on the Tuesday following the game after he was made aware of an NJCAA rule that prohibits college officials from posting bail for a student-athlete.
Indian Hills had five players suspended for their actions in the moments after the SCC game and all of those players were forced to sit out the Warriors' final two regular season games.
The NJCAA ban on Indian Hills' playing in the postseason was handed down last week with the organization then issuing its ruling against IHCC's appeal of the penalty on Monday.
This is a statement from Dr. Lindenmayer following Monday's announcement:
“Late Saturday (Feb. 16), after everyone was on their way home, I bailed a student-athlete out of jail. I was unaware of the rule, but I knew that I did not want to leave a player behind at an out-of-town facility under those circumstances. I feel strongly that when we leave our campus with students in our care it is our duty to return them safely to campus. This is what I would expect of any staff member and what I would expect as a parent of a child under college supervision. I feel the penalty is very harsh, especially in light of our record for following NJCAA rules. I sincerely apologize to our fans and the entire Indian Hills community. Coach Peery, his staff and players have worked very hard on this great season. Obviously this was a very unfortunate incident with lots of regrets from many people. “
The Warriors end their season with a 26-4 record. They won the conference championship with a 7-1 mark and had the second-highest offensive average of any Division I school, scoring 97.9 points a game. Indian Hills was ranked third in the NJCAA poll that was released following the double-overtime win over Southeastern, their 12th consecutive victory, a season high.
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