Mike Powell, last season’s Tewaaraton Trophy recipient as the nation’s finest college lacrosse player, recently said he is 80 percent sure he will again wear a Syracuse uniform but remains open to transferring to play elsewhere.

A junior academically and athletically, Powell was dismissed during the summer for at least one semester from the College of Health and Human Services for failing to maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. Assistant coach Roy Simmons III informed Powell by phone after he returned from the World Championships in Australia in July. Powell later received a letter from his home college documenting his fate, he said.

Had Powell found out sooner, say mid-June? ‘I either would have played professionally or transferred somewhere,’ he said.

Asked where, Powell said, ‘Virginia man. I’d go there right now. A year off, then play two with John Christmas.’

Christmas, a sophomore attackman at UVa, started all 15 games as one of the country’s top freshmen and compiled 44 points, third among Cavaliers. Powell led Division I in scoring last season with 42 goals and 42 assists.

Virginia coach Dom Starsia said there has been no communication between the school and Powell, the Most Outstanding Player of last season’s NCAA Tournament following a seven-point performance in the national championship game. Starsia said it would be improper to contact Powell, whom he fully expects back at SU.

‘Technically, they can talk to him, I believe,’ said Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse’s Director of Athletics. ‘But I’m not exactly sure. He has not been expelled. He has been suspended. So, he is readmissable.’

When initially selecting a school, Powell strongly considered Virginia, one of the country’s top programs and Syracuse’s foremost rival. He chose SU for a multitude of reasons: its location 90 miles south of his hometown of Carthage, family tradition (his brothers Casey and Ryan share the school career scoring record), the opportunity to star with former Carthage High teammate and friend Josh Coffman, the fact that Ryan and Casey remained in the area, and of course, the lacrosse tradition.

Most likely, Powell, a two-time first-team All-American, will remain. ‘I can’t (leave) because of the coaches (here),’ he said. ‘They’re too good to me.’

But Powell’s sentiments expressed a week ago during lunch on Marshall Street reflect his frustration with his academic experience at Syracuse. As Powell’s teammates practiced on Coyne Field, he ate and talked.

‘It’s obviously my fault,’ said Powell, who did not visit the White House with the team last Tuesday. ‘I didn’t do nearly as well as I should have. But a lot of things upset me that the school did.’

On academic probation since the spring semester of his freshman year, Powell finished last year with a 1.90 cumulative GPA, he said. Knowing he needed a 2.0 to continue, he completed a child and infant care course in May, attending class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for eight days, he said. His grade in that class lifted his GPA to 1.99, he said.

‘So, I missed it by a point,’ he said. ‘I knew I was close. I didn’t think I was that close.’

In June, Powell received the Tewaaraton, bringing the university’s general scholarship fund a $5,000 stipend in his name.

He then traveled to Australia, leading the tournament in scoring and winning a world championship. If he’d been notified prior to leaving, Powell said, he may have stayed home and worked toward improving his GPA.

‘I found out from a phone call, not even from the school,’ he said. ‘And then they sent me a letter that says, the reason why you’re kicked out of school is attached. There was no attachment. We had to call and ask for it. And how can they kick me out when Ryan and Casey can go to school here and neither of them graduate? They were much worse than I was.’

Citing student confidentiality rules, neither lacrosse coach John Desko, sports information director Sue Edson, Crouthamel or university spokesperson Kevin Morrow could speak about Powell’s GPA or the process by which his home college excused him.

Morrow could only say that Powell may petition the university for readmission at the conclusion of this semester.

‘If he provides evidence of substantial academic achievement,’ Morrow said, ‘he would be readmitted for the spring.’

‘But,’ Morrow added during a later conversation, ‘it’s not as clear-cut as people are making it out to be. There is nothing automatic here. Michael has to be away from Syracuse University this semester and can petition for readmission. Mike knows what he needs to do.’

While Morrow refused to specify what ‘substantial academic achievement’ means, Powell said he has been told he must attain Bs in three community college classes approved by the College of Health and Human Services. Powell is enrolled in one philosophy class Wednesday evenings at Onondaga Community College and two online courses, in sociology and psychology, through Brigham Young.

Because Powell has attained the necessary number of credits to be NCAA eligible, he could play this spring if readmitted, Desko said.

So, Powell occupies himself exercising and playing acoustic guitar, sometimes as an extra for the group My Friend’s Band. He joined a gym on Erie Boulevard and works out with a personal trainer for 90 minutes each day. Physically, he looks both larger and more toned, and claimed to weigh 175 pounds, 12 more than last season.

‘I’m getting into it,’ he said. ‘I hated it before. Some of it was seeing results. A lot of it was getting angry.’

Since his older brothers moved — Ryan to Detroit and Casey to San Diego — to work as representatives for Warrior, a lacrosse clothing and equipment supplier, Powell spends considerable time alone. He lives in Manlius with one of Ryan’s friends.

‘I really don’t do anything,’ he said. ‘It’s kind of depressing. This is a day in the life of Mike Powell. I wake up around 10:30, 11 o’clock, take my dog to Thornden Park, let her run around, take her swimming, eat lunch, come home, then go and lift weights. That’s about it.’

Powell also works on his game and checks in with Desko regularly, both he and the coach said.

‘We see him,’ Desko said. ‘We actually planned to hold him out for the fall. He has no need to prove anything to us. It’s a matter of keeping him healthy. We talked to him about it before he left for the World Games.’

Now, Desko must focus on returning a lacrosse player capable of becoming Syracuse’s most decorated ever. Ryan and Casey each totaled 287 career points. Each won one national championship. With two seasons to go, Powell has 154 points and a title.

‘He’ll be back in the spring,’ said former SU teammate John Glatzel, who played with Powell in Australia. ‘Everything will be all right.’

Said Coffman: ‘I think he’d be foolish to go anywhere else.’

Desko, too, remains ‘optimistic,’ he said.

‘I saw him this afternoon out shooting,’ Desko said a week ago Monday. ‘Mike has the attitude that he seems to be working at his courses and really wants to achieve what is asked of him, so he can be back within the walls of SU. That’s up to Mike.’

‘The only reason I would stay,’ Powell said, ‘is for the coaches and the guys on the team. I feel that I’ve done a lot for this school both on and off the field. I’ve never been in trouble. I just feel I haven’t been treated right.’

Published on October 1, 2002 at 12:00 pm