Silas Nacita (31) is no longer on the Baylor team. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
Baylor walk-on running back Silas Nacita, who received national attention when people learned he had been homeless for a year, is no longer on the football team.
Nacita, a native of Bakersfield, Calif., was a backup last season and rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns. He walked on at Baylor in the summer of 2014 after being homeless.
“Silas Nacita will not be a part of the football program moving forward due to rules violations that impact his eligibility,” Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw said Wednesday in a statement released by the school. “We appreciate his contributions to Baylor football and wish him well as he completes his studies.”
Earlier Wednesday, Nacita said on Twitter that the NCAA ruled him ineligible because he accepted impermissible benefits while he was homeless last summer.
The NCAA, however, tweeted that it did not issue any decision regarding Nacita’s eligibility: “The NCAA did not declare Silas Nacita ineligible and Baylor has not requested a waiver for him.”
An errant autocorrect gave fan favorite Nacita the nickname “Salsa Nacho.”
“A few months before enrolling, a close family friend approached me and said they didn’t want me sleeping on floors and wondering how I was going to eat the next meal,” Nacita wrote on his @Salsa_Nacho Twitter account, “so they insisted on putting me in an apartment and helping out with those living expenses.
“Because I accepted that offer instead of choosing to be homeless, I am no longer eligible to play football and pursue my dream. I had no idea I was breaking any rules, but I respect the decision of the NCAA.”
Nacita had transferred from Cornell but was unable to enroll in 2013. He said he lived homeless for the next year and took online community college courses at a library. He earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors in his first year at Baylor.
