A team of speedo-clad six-footers doesn’t usually pose
much of a challenge for Adam Wright.
But a team of lawyers? That’s too much to handle.
Wright, a former standout on the UCLA men’s water polo
team from 1996-2000, won all but a handful of matches in his last
two years as a Bruin. But one of the few things he did lose was a
legal battle with the NCAA that ultimately cost him his eligibility
for the second half of his senior season.
“It was a big roller coaster ride” said Wright, 26,
who will return to Westwood as a member of the U.S. National team
that will face UCLA in an exhibition match today. “It
wasn’t a big infraction ““ it’s not like I was
taking money or anything. They cracked down on me just to set a
precedent. It was just a terrible situation.”
Midway through the 2000 season, the NCAA determined that Wright,
UCLA’s top goal scorer at the time, was ineligible because
the Bruins never filed for a medical hardship redshirt for his
freshman year in 1996. Wright played in one quarter of one game
before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the
season.
“Losing half your senior year for just playing a couple
minutes just doesn’t seem right,” said UCLA head coach
Adam Krikorian, who also coached Wright in 2000. “He was such
a huge part of the team and the program. I wish he could have
finished the season.”
Instead of forcing UCLA to forfeit the 17 games in which Wright
played, the NCAA came up with a more creative punishment. It
penalized the Bruins 3.7 goals ““ Wright’s per game
scoring average ““ in each game, meaning that any game UCLA
had won by three or less goals instead counted as a loss.
The decision cost the Bruins four victories, and the Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation championship.
With his collegiate career seemingly over, Wright launched a
legal crusade against the NCAA in an effort to restore his
eligibility. He won a court order which temporarily allowed him to
play again, but that order was ultimately challenged and reversed
by a team of NCAA attorneys.
“It still makes me mad, even all these years later,”
Wright said. “Water polo doesn’t make the NCAA any
money. They make all this money off of all these athletes in
football and basketball. It wasn’t my fault I was declared
ineligible, but they took away an opportunity from me.”
Without Wright, the Bruins managed to capture the national
championship, routing UC San Diego in the finals with their fallen
All-American watching from the deck.
Since leaving UCLA, Wright has put the incident behind him, and
is focused on his professional career. He was a starter for the
U.S. team, which took part in the World Championships and the Pan
American Games over the summer, and has established himself as one
of leaders of the squad.
Krikorian has followed Wright’s career closely, and is not
surprised by his quick rise through the American ranks.
Nonetheless, Krikorian’s not looking forward to devising a
game plan to contain the former Bruin during today’s
exhibition match.
“He’s the smartest player I ever coached,”
Krikorian said. “When he began playing with the national
team, he was on the short end experience-wise. But now he’s
become one of the most consistent players. I am thrilled to see him
having so much success.”