North Dakota RB ineligible in team's first D-I season

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- North Dakota star running back Ryan Chappell is academically ineligible to play this season, the first for the school at Division I.

UND football coach Chris Mussman said Tuesday that Chappell will remain on the team. He was to begin his junior season this fall.

Chappell was UND's leading rusher last season, gaining 1,640 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns. He averaged 136 rushing yards a game and caught 22 passes for 370 yards.

He set UND's single-game rushing record last September by gaining 306 yards against Central Washington.

"The big thing is we have to play with the guys who do it the right way, on the field, off the field and in the classroom," Mussman said. "The integrity of the program is the most important thing. We'll win and lose with kids who do things the right way."

Chappell will have one season of eligibility remaining.