Ineligible Player May Cost Cal Lutheran a Victory

THOUSAND OAKS —  Cal Lutheran might be forced to forfeit a football victory because it used an ineligible player, the school announced Thursday.

School officials discovered last Friday that starting defensive lineman Erik Lundring is ineligible because his course load includes only six academic units, two short of the minimum required for full-time status and athletic eligibility. Lundring, 22, graduated from Cal Lutheran last spring and is pursuing a master’s degree in business.

Lundring did not play in Cal Lutheran’s victory over Azusa Pacific on Saturday. Because the Kingsmen lost four of five games in which Lundring played, only the season-opening victory over Claremont-Mudd is in jeopardy.

Cal Lutheran reported the infraction to the NCAA this week. Coach Joe Harper was unsure when a ruling would be made.

If Cal Lutheran forfeits its 37-34 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Stags, its record would drop to 1-5, 0-4 in the SCIAC.

“It’s unfortunate,” Lundring said, “but it’s my own fault because I didn’t look it up. . . . If I knew I was supposed to have eight (units), I would have had eight. I’m used to taking 17, but it’s too late now.”

Lundring, a 1990 Westlake High graduate, first attended Pacific Lutheran University but did not play football. He transferred and played four seasons at Cal Lutheran and was a starter in 1993 and 1994. Although he graduated last spring, Lundring began the master’s program at Cal Lutheran so he could play his fourth year of football, he said.