NCAA denies exemption to play, University of Hawaii basketball player Jerome Desrosiers tweets

GEORGE F. LEE / FEB. 26

Hawaii’s Jerome Desrosiers went to the hoop against Cal State Bakersfield’s Shawn Stith at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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It appears Jerome Desrosiers’ playing career has ended with the University of Hawaii basketball team.

Desrosiers tweeted that the NCAA did not approve an exemption that would have allowed him to play as a sixth-year senior during the 2022-23 academic year.

“Very upset,” Desrosiers said. “I wish I could get an extra year.”

At issue was the Ivy League deciding not to compete during the 2020-21 season because of the pandemic. The other leagues played abbreviated schedules, and their student- athletes were granted COVID-related extensions that essentially granted them an extra season. The Ivy League’s exemption plea was denied.

That impacted Desrosiers, who began his college career at Princeton, an Ivy League school. The 2020-21 season was supposed to be his senior season at Princeton. The Ivy League prefers that its student-athletes do not redshirt, meaning Desrosisers probably would not have been allowed to compete if he remained at Princeton for another year. Instead, he entered the transfer portal last year, committed to UH, then earned a bachelor’s degree at Princeton.

This past season, Desrosiers led the ’Bows in rebounding (6.5 per game) and minutes (31.3) while averaging 11 points on 50.0% shooting. He played wing, stretch four and center. Desrosiers, who grew up in Canada, was named a tri-captain. He received All-Big West honorable mention,

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Near the end of the season, there were discussions that an extra year would be granted to Ivy League players who were not given an opportunity to compete in 2020-21. But Desrosiers cited a tweet from Courtney Banghart, head coach of North Carolina’s women’s team. “It’s official,” Banghart tweeted. ‘The @NCAA decided NOT to give back the Ivy athletes the year that the league canceled sports. Despite the fact that the decision was made AFTER the SA’s PAID for their semester.”

The Ivy League does not offer scholarships for athletics.

“The NCAA decided not to take action on this, which means anything in the future relating to this is probably not going to get discussed,” Desrosiers said.

For now, Desrosiers is unsure about his plans. He has another year to complete work on his master’s degree in marketing. He also could explore a pro career.