According to Clinton County High School Athletic Director Mike Beard, neither basketball team will travel to Lexington to play in the “Rumble at Rupp” showcase tournament this season.

Official word didn’t come until after press deadline last week.

The Lady Bulldogs and Bulldogs were scheduled to play in the showcase tournament with the girls’ game to be held this Sunday, December 11 against Mercer County. The boys’ game was scheduled on January 8, 2012 against Bryan Station. Both games were on a Sunday.

Rob Blair, President/CEO of Bleid Sports, released comments saying “this is unfair and they will continue to fight for our coaches and our kids.”

The press release also said the schools will be refunded for the advanced tickets they purchased.

“The first round of checks were supposed to go out today,” Beard said. “We will just have to wait and see.”

Beard said Clinton County should be reimbursed for everything, including the money paid to Bleid Sports for entering the showcase.

“We apologize for the decision of the NCAA, and hope that the ruling will change very soon. Doing things the right way should not punish us, the teams, the coaches, the programs, and the communities,” Blair said. “We urge the Kentucky communities to stick by their program and their players through this unfortunate decision.”

The reason for both teams not being allowed to play at Rupp Arena came last week from the NCAA saying it was not a “scholastic event.”

The showcase featured more than 80 Kentucky teams. According to the release, Bleid Sports received a case number from the Academic and Membership Affairs (AMA) division of the NCAA that explained the Rupp Arena showcases as being scholastic and they were approved through the National Federation of High Schools, as well as sanctioned through the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.

The AMA is the governing division that interprets rules and therefore can enforce the NCAA bylaws. The release said Rupp Arena’s attorney received a case number on November 21, 2011 that said the event is scholastic.

The AMA then followed up denying the event, stating that the University of Kentucky would be harmed because the event is “non-scholastic” on November 23, 2011.

“It was very unfortunate, as it feels that all parties were guaranteed the opportunity to participate in a wonderful event, Blair said. “This has hurt many communities across the state of Kentucky, as well as many across the country.”

The “new rule” enforced by the NCAA will not affect the Sweet 16 State Championship for the girls or the boys which is played at Western Kentucky’s Diddle Arena for the girls and Rupp Arena for the boys.

Bleid Sports has already moved the showcase to a different venue, causing several teams to change their minds about playing in the showcase, including Clinton County.

Breaking the NCAA’s rule could cause trouble for the University of Kentucky causing Bleid Sports to change the venue to keep from compromising UK’s integrity.

Rupp Arena is not the only place the rule will be enforced. Bleid Sports also hosts events at Duke, Virginia and Oregon.

Taking away the two games from the Clinton County Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs’ schedule will result in the addition of two games.

Beard said he didn’t know when, where or who the games would be played against, but he was certain both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs will find a team to add to the schedule.

“We would like to pick up two home games since we have fewer home games than anything,” Beard said. “That would be ideal.”

Clinton County traveled to Monroe County on Tuesday, December 6, and will travel to Metcalfe County Friday for the season’s first district games. Both of those contests are boys and girls double headers.

The Clinton County Lady Bulldogs will be in action Saturday at Lindle Castle Gymnasium as the team hosts Greenwood. The junior varsity team will tip off around 3:30 p.m.