Who gets the victory or defeat? It appears UALR gets to make the decision



ULM at UALR
7 p.m. tonight
Jack Stephens Center

    It appears the decision about who gets the victory or defeat as the coach for UALR tonight will be left up to UALR. UALR Coach Steve Shields is suspended for tonight's game against Louisiana-Monroe. He is not permitted to be within one mile of the Jack Stephens Center for the game. Assistant Coach Joe Kleine is the interim coach tonight.
   This is the NCAA interpretation of similar situations:
   Shields needs one victory to move into sole possession of second place on UALR's all-time coaching victories list. He has 122.

"As a general rule, if a coach misses a game or limited amount of games due to a temporary illness, transportation trouble, or whatever reason, one-hundred percent of the time the wins or loses by the team in his or her absence has gone to the head coach. The only exception to this has been if a coach is suspended for a game or more, the suspended head coach is still eligible to receive the wins or losses in his or her absence, but some institutions have chosen to give the record to the interim coach."

   That would leave the decision to UALR. Michigan State was in a similar situation earlier this year. With Coach Tom Izzo suspended, the Spartans victory over Prairie View A&M was credited to Izzo.