From Staff Reports

The undefeated season is over for the Livingstone women. The Blue Bears will forfeit games after an internal investigation revealed the team had been using an ineligible player.

Livingstone senior forward Kyra Crosby, from Atlanta, is the player in question, according to John Dell from The Winston-Salem Journal.

Crosby was key in the team’s rise to the No. 5 ranking in the USA Today Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll. She led the team in scoring and rebounding with 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. She was second on the team with 1.0 blocks per game.

The Blue Bears will forfeit 18 games, dropping their overall record from 22-0 to 4-18.

The school has accepted the resignation of compliance director Malcolm Nelson and athletic director Andre Springs has been placed on probation for one year, according to a press release from the school.

Livingstone president Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins Sr. is working with the CIAA on the reporting of the findings of the investigation.

“We rely on our athletics department to be vigilant in making sure our athletics programs comply with NCAA standards, and it is now clear to me that the Department did not live up to expectations,” Jenkins Sr. said in a statement. “The protection of the welfare and integrity of our great Institution is at the center of our mission.”