TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today (Oct. 1) that the year-in residence requirement for junior transfer Jake Kelly has been waived due to his extraordinary personal circumstances.

Kelly is eligible to play immediately for Indiana State after transferring from Iowa after the 2008-09 academic year.

“I am really happy for Jake and his family that the NCAA is going to allow him to play this year,” Indiana State head basketball coach Kevin McKenna said. “This decision will mean a lot to his close friends and family. I think that this is really going to help him and his family with the healing process. The ability to have his mind on school, basketball and our team while playing will be the best thing for him.”

In making this decision, the NCAA released the following statement:

The NCAA staff has granted Indiana State University's request to waive the year-in-residence requirement for its men's basketball student-athlete Jake Kelly. Mr. Kelly's previous institution, University of Iowa, was supportive of this waiver request. The waiver, which will allow Mr. Kelly to compete immediately, was granted based on his extraordinary personal circumstances. The chronology of events supported his transfer to a university that will allow him to be closer to his family.

The NCAA has established a waiver process and criteria to address unique situations and extenuating circumstances that are not outlined in our rules. Each situation is reviewed carefully on a case-by-case basis with the interest and well-being of all student-athletes in mind.

“This process was very professional and handled well by the NCAA,” McKenna said. “We also owe a lot to our compliance department for the way that they took care of this waiver request and handled it in an extremely efficient manner. The NCAA had enough information that they were able to take into account Jake's personal well being and make the correct, informed decision.”

Kelly was named an honorable mention all-Big Ten selection by the league coaches and media last season for the Hawkeyes and was twice named the Big Ten Player of the Week (Feb. 23 and Mar. 9). The 6-foot-6 guard played in all 32 games for Iowa and started the final 24 games, leading the team with an average of 11.6 points per game throughout the year.

Kelly also scored in double figures 18 times, led the team in scoring in nine games while also leading in assists and steals 11 times throughout his sophomore season.

The Carmel, Ind., native turned up his game late in the season, as he scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists vs. Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.  Other highlights included scoring 22 points (8-16 FT's, 4-8 treys), dishing out a career-best 11 assists, and grabbing four rebounds in a win over Penn State.  Kelly also scored 19 points and corralled 11 rebounds for his first-career double-double against Ohio State and matched his career high with 23 points at Northwestern, along with five rebounds and three assists.  Kelly also scored 20 points, five rebounds and four assists at the Breslin Center against national runner-up Michigan State. 

As a freshman at Iowa during the 2007-08 season, Kelly played in all 32 games, with 25 starts.  He averaged 7.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game and his three-point shooting percentage of 43.5% ranks first all-time for an Iowa freshman.  He scored 11 points against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament and tallied 18 points (7-10 FG's, 4-5 3-pt. FG's), four assists and two rebounds in win at Northwestern.  Kelly also scored 19 points (4-4 FT's) along with grabbing three rebounds and two steals in win against Missouri Valley Conference foe Northern Iowa.

Kelly attended Marshall High in Marshall, Ill., prior to playing his final two seasons as a prep standout at Carmel. He earned first team all-conference honors and was named to the Indiana Junior All-Stars following junior season and earned pre-season all-state recognition heading into his senior season. He averaged 13.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 21 games as a senior, helping team post 14-7 overall record, and averaged 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a junior while helping his team post a 17-7 mark as a junior.