Nov 23, 2023 By Bob Hertzel 4 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — To the surprise of no one, the NCAA announced that West Virginia University’s appeal for a transfer waiver to make guard RaeQuan Battle eligible to play this season has been denied.

And, to the surprise of no one, WVU’s response has been swift and strong, saying they believe it to be “a grave mistake and misjudgment” on the part of the governing body of collegiate sports.

It was the third time the NCAA has denied transfer waivers to WVU.

The NCAA Committee for Legislative Relief issued its ruling mid-afternoon Tuesday and according to the joint response from Mountaineer Athletic Director Wren Baker and interim basketball coach Josh Eilert, they have unfairly penalized a student-athlete who had done nothing wrong.

“Disappointed, disheartened and certainly frustrated are the emotions our entire basketball program is dealing with right now due to this short-sighted decision,” the statement read. “It has already been requested by the Division I Board of Directors to review the existing transfer rules and waiver guidelines. Furthermore, the chair of the board was specifically quoted stating the NCAA would ‘continue to view student-athlete well-being and mental health as a priority for the Association.'”

The rule in question is one that allows a student-athlete one transfer and requires a waiver for a second transfer if a student-athlete has not yet graduated.

Battle, perhaps the Mountaineers prize transfer recruit in an off-season that was blown apart by the Bob Huggins situation that led to his departure, leading to a mass exodus of players he had coached and also recruits, began his career at the University of Washington in 2019, transferred to Montana State in 2021, and then this year transferred to Morgantown.

WVU filed for a waiver on humanitarian grounds that are included in the guidelines, saying a waiver can be awarded “for reasons related to the student-athlete’s physical or mental well-being.”

As WVU awaited the ruling, with the Mountaineers down to eight scholarship players and with a 2-2 record now, Eilert made a public plea for the waiver, stating a month ago “for him personally, he needs basketball in his life.”

The plea has no impact on the NCAA and WVU is hot about it.

“On behalf of West Virginia University Intercollegiate Athletics, we believe the NCAA has made a grave mistake and misjudgment with regard to first denying RaeQuan Battle’s request for a waiver and now in his eventual appeal,” WVU said in a statement. “Both denials have produced nothing but hardship and penalty,” the statement began.

In an effort to apply pressure to the NCAA and convince them that the waiver was the right move after Battle, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation and was raised on the Tulalip Reservation in Washington, suffering both losses in his own family and in the Tribe to COVID-19, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey wrote a letter to the NCAA.

In 2013 Battle, then a middle school student, also had his cousin, with whom he and his four brothers were raised, commit suicide and a year later there was a mass shooting at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School which he attended. Five people were killed, including the shooter, who was a relative of Battle’s.

The emotional scars should be quite obvious to anyone and the importance of basketball in Battle’s life is magnified by what he has been through.

WVU’s statement went on to emphasize why this decision went against the spirit of the waiver system that is in place.

“The intent of the transfer waiver process is to provide relief for extenuating and extraordinary circumstances that are outside the control of the student-athlete,” WVU’s statement read. “There is no question that RaeQuan’s case clearly calls for a waiver so that he can continue his academic and athletic career on a positive track. Despite overwhelming evidence that RaeQuan clearly meets the established criteria for relief, the NCAA’s decision to deny does nothing but penalize a student-athlete for negative situations and environments that others have caused him.”

With this ruling, Battle must sit out this season but does have one more year of eligibility, which can be exercised next year.

That, however, does nothing for this year’s basketball program that has undergone such trauma, nor does it help an interim coach trying to get his career jumpstarted, forcing him — Eilert — and Battle’s WVU teammates to undergo a penalty that borders upon a “death penalty” for the team as it moves forward.