TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The NCAA has granted Oral Roberts a waiver allowing the Golden Eagles to play two Southland Conference games they were being forced to forfeit.
Oral Roberts will play Abilene Christian on Thursday and Incarnate Word on Saturday as scheduled.
Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word are Division II Southland Conference programs that won’t be Division I until 2014-15. An NCAA bylaw states Division I schools can play a maximum four non-Division I teams in a season, including exhibitions.
Oral Roberts already had played four non-Division I teams this season — two exhibition games and two regular-season games — so playing Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word would have violated the rule. The NCAA reached out to the Southland and other affected conferences last week and offered a blanket waiver.
