Florida State says Delaware State did meet NCAA requirements that allow the Seminoles to count their victory against the FCS team toward bowl eligibility.
Questions about whether the Seminoles had indeed reached six countable wins were raised by fans who analyzed data on athletic scholarships provided by Delaware State and posted the findings on the website Reddit. The analysis found the school had failed use 90 percent of its football scholarship funds, which is required for an FCS team to be countable toward FBS bowl eligibility.
Florida State released a statement Friday night saying the information posted was incomplete and failed to account for "a long-standing NCAA rule interpretation that permits institutions to use academic scholarships and other forms of non-athletic institutional aid received by student-athletes in the computation."
Here's the full statement statement From Florida State Athletics:
"Florida State has received confirmation from Delaware State that the 90 percent requirement is satisfied for the 2017 season, allowing the victory to be used in determining bowl eligibility.
Media reports suggesting otherwise failed to account for a long-standing NCAA rules interpretation that permits institutions to use academic scholarships and other forms of non-athletics institutional aid received by student-athletes in the computation of this requirement. These media reports represent incomplete information, as they only reflect athletics scholarships received.
Florida State departs Saturday for the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl, marking the Seminoles’ 36th consecutive postseason appearance."
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