NCAA (College)
NCAA sacks Bloom's plea for reinstatement
By The Source
Aug 24, 2004

Boulder, CO (Sports Network) - An appeals committee Tuesday turned down University of Colorado wide receiver Jeremy Bloom's appeal of a decision by the NCAA which rendered the world champion skier ineligible to play college football.

The decision puts a close to the collegiate career of Bloom, who caught 22 passes for 356 yards and a touchdown for the Buffaloes last season.

On August 16, the NCAA denied Bloom's request to continue to compete for Colorado while also collecting endorsement money to support his pro skiing career. Bloom, a former World Cup champion in freestyle moguls, started accepting endorsements last winter to fund the costs of his training for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

"We're all really disappointed, even though we knew going into today there was only a small chance for reversal," said Buffaloes head coach Gary Barnett. "Personally, I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of flexibility by the NCAA."

NCAA student-athletes are not allowed to accept endorsement money from any sport, although it is permissible to receive a salary in a professional sport and still maintain collegiate eligibility in another sport. Skiing has no such salary arrangement, so the only way Bloom was able to continue funding his training was to start taking endorsements, the standard for the sport.