Thus setting off a major argument in the Barth household on how Casey needed five years to break Connor's FG record at UNC. Barth family gatherings are likely ruined into the foreseeable future.
University of North Carolina place-kicker Casey Barth, who has been limited to three games due to an injured groin, will not return this year and will seek a medical hardship waiver from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The waiver would allow Barth to play a fifth year in 2012. Barth strained his groin in the first half vs. Virginia on Sept. 17 and has not kicked since.
A native of Wilmington, N.C., Barth made all 11 extra points and one field goal - a 46-yarder vs. Rutgers - in the first two and a half games this season before the injury. He has made 51 of 63 career field goal attempts and a school-record 82 consecutive extra points. He needs just four field goals to surpass his brother Connor's school-record total of 54.
Casey Barth participated in the first three games of the season and even then was listed on the injury reports as having a sore quadriceps muscle. This led Everett Withers to give the kickoff duties to Trase Jones so Barth could focus primarily on FGs. During the Virginia game, Barth injured his groin muscle and has been listed as out/doubtful in the subsequent games. There was some hope UNC would get him back but since it appears that may not happen anytime soon, the decision was made to shut him down and seek a fifth season.
Here is what the NCAA rule on medical hardship waivers says:
14.2.4 Hardship Waiver. A student-athlete may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of “hardship.” Hardship is defined as an incapacity resulting from an injury or illness that has occurred under all of the following conditions: (Revised: 8/8/02, 11/1/07 effective 8/1/08)
(a) The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition at any two year or four-year collegiate institutions or occurs after the first day of classes in the student-athlete’s senior year in high school; (Revised: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92, 11/1/01, 8/8/02)
(b) The injury or illness occurs prior to the first competition of the second half of the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship in that sport (see Bylaw 14.2.4.3.4) and results in incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season; (Revised: 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 4/26/01 effective 8/1/01, 4/3/02, 4/24/08)
(c) In team sports, the injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) or 30 percent (whichever number is greater) of the institution’s scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition in his or her sport...
The magic number is three games and not playing after the sixth game which would constitute the halfway point of the season. If Barth could get healthy this season, it appears UNC would only have him for a handful of games. The smarter move is to ditch this season, take the redshirt and come back fully healthy in 2012.