Iowa State’s 1998-1999 hockey team can no longer boast a national championship.

On July 7, the American College Hockey Association stripped the ISU club hockey team of ACHA’s Division I title and placed other sanctions on the university.

The charges are the result of a several-month investigation into former ISU player Darcy Anderson, who was found by the ACHA to have played professionally both before and during his time with the Cyclones.

“The appeal is done, and this decision is final,” said Josh Brandwene, president of the ACHA.

Brandwene said an unknown individual contacted the league office in April, a month after ISU defeated Penn State to win the ACHA title, with a tip that an ISU player had been playing illegally during the past season.

ACHA rules prohibit players from playing professionally, signing a contract to play pro or taking money to play hockey.

An internal investigation discovered that Anderson and ISU were in violation of league rules, Brandwene said.

ISU hockey coach Al Murdoch told the Daily that the team had appealed the decision.

However, a unanimous vote by the ACHA appeals panel against the appeal sealed ISU’s fate in early July.

Brandwene did not specify for whom Anderson had played professionally.

Murdoch, who sits on the ACHA board of directors and is the vice-president of the Division I branch of the ACHA, could not be reached for comment.

He was aware of the investigation, but as of July 8, still had not released a statement concerning the lost title.

Besides having the Murdoch Cup, named for ISU’s coach, taken away, the team was subjected to other sanctions, Brandwene said.

The ISU hockey team will forfeit all games from the 1998-1999 season in which Darcy Anderson participated.

ISU will be placed on two seasons of probation beginning with the 1999-2000 season.

ISU will still be eligible for ACHA post-season play, including the 2000 and 2001 National Championship Tournaments, assuming no further rule violations occur during this two-season period.

As a result of its probationary status, any further rule violations occurring during the next two years could result in the suspension of membership benefits for ISU.

Darcy Anderson also will be forced to forfeit all individual ACHA awards received during the 1998-1999 season, including his selection to the national all tournament team.

Brandwene defended the broad punishments handed down by the ACHA.

“Although the sanctions imposed on the Iowa State hockey program may seem harsh to some, it is important that we, as an organization, uphold the integrity of the rules, which the ACHA membership has set forth,” he said.

“In addition to credibility, one of the goals of our organization is to have rules that help maintain consistency within each program, thus creating a ‘level playing field’ for all to compete and participate. When those rules are broken, intentionally or unintentionally, the unwanted task of handing down sanctions becomes one of necessity.””

Having to discipline a team coached by Murdoch, the original president of the ACHA, was not easy for board members, Brandwene said.

“This whole situation has been extremely difficult, to say the least,” he said. “Many people, including the ACHA board of directors, commissioners, executive director and appeals panel members have put in countless hours in the interest of finding the truth and making the right decision.”

Anderson, a native Canadian, has already exhausted his eligibility at ISU. As a senior last year, Anderson scored 57 goals and dished out 46 assists.