Less than two years removed from a league championship, NIU’s club hockey team nearly found itself without a season to play, but was saved by its own honesty.

An anonymous tip brought allegations that the team was involved in hazing incidents, said Rick Clark, director of University Programming and Activities.

here were two different incidents tried in the same case, Clark said. The first involved veterans on the team wanting to shave the heads of the newcomers; the second involved a player being duct-taped to a tree on his birthday.

While the incidents were being investigated, the team was suspended, forcing it to miss a game versus Bradley University. But the problems since have cleared and the team has all restrictions lifted.

It was the team’s honesty and severity of the incidents that allowed it to walk away without long-term suspension, Clark said.

After finding out about the incidents, Clark summoned team officers and they immediately admitted their guilt, Clark said.

This not only sped up the investigation process, but also shed the team in a better light. Should they have denied involvement, Clark said, the team’s suspension would have dragged on, and the team would have been punished, as well.

What makes these cases unique is that these incidents don’t necessarily fall under someone’s conceived definition of hazing, Clark said.

In the first incident, where members of the team attempted to shave the heads of newcomers, no one’s head actually was touched. Threats were made, and that was enough to violate the NIU judicial code for hazing. Anything that causes mental, psychological or physical harm falls under the category.

In the second incident, a team member was taped to a tree following a team meeting. Although it was the member’s birthday and was consensual, Clark said the action still falls under the category of hazing, mainly because it occurred following a club meeting. If the member consensually was taped to a tree days later, the team would not have been punished, Clark said.

This is the first time the hockey club caused any trouble, said John Sweeney, director of campus recreation.

Sweeney and the Office of Campus Recreation act as advisors to the club sports teams on campus, seeing that they budget their SA-allocated money wisely.

This is the first incident that Sweeney can recall of any club team having problems with behavior or hazing. Most problems the OCR ever has with club teams involves budgets, he added.

Clark echoed Sweeney in saying it is the first club sport team hazing incident he recalls. This incident can be used as a learning tool for student organizations, Clark said.

As part of the team’s punishment, which includes a two-year probationary period, the hockey team must supply a written copy of all the steps that new members of the club must go through.

If at all possible, Clark said he would like to one day see all of the 200-plus student organizations on campus submit something similar.

The 22-member hockey team has returned to routine in the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association. Clark said it was not recommended that the SA cut any of the club’s $13,800 annual budget.