73 Year Old, College Baller Benched

Lightning strikes twice for Ken Mink.  But not in a good way.  53 years after he was kicked out of Lees Junior College for a prank he didn’t commit, the 73-year-old’s return to the college hoops has again been put on hold.  Mink has been ruled academically ineligible to compete.  The issue is the minimum number of credits an athlete must pass in a semester to keep his eligibility. Mink, who hadn’t been in school in a half century, carried the minimum 12 hours in the fall semester and was doing well in all but Spanish.

Mink became a national story last year when he decided to try to resume his college basketball career after it was cut short some 50+ years ago.  He was 73 years old, but he could still shoot the ball, could still dribble, could even throw a behind-the-back pass. All he needed was a coach willing to take a chance on him.  Mink got a shot with the Roane Junior College Raiders basketball team.   He’s 35 years older than the college he attends, older than his teachers and the college president, old enough to be his teammates’ grandfather. He is, in fact, the oldest man ever to play college basketball.  The Roane college president and athletic director agree and have appealed the ruling. With luck, Mink hopes to have his eligibility restored in time for the team’s final game on Wednesday, Feb. 25.