A Minnesota college cross country star says he was banned from participating in his final season after he accepted a $6,000 donation from community members who pitched in to help with tuition costs.
The NCAA ruled Augsburg University senior Mohammed Bati — a two-time national runner-up — ineligible for the indoor and outdoor track seasons, the decorated runner said, according to Marathon Handbook on Friday.
The 26-year-old, who is majoring in nursing, revealed he was “struggling a lot with money” last semester at the private Minneapolis school, which is part of the NCAA’s Division III.
Bati nearly dropped out of school before he received financial help from the community to continue his education.
“The community around me came together to support me,” Bati wrote on the training platform Strava on Dec. 24. “People helped me with around $6,000 so I could pay for that semester. I’m still grateful for that it was love, it was support, not anything big or business or something bad. Just people helping someone who needed it.”
The NCAA learned about the heartfelt donation and determined that Bati violated the organization’s policies for accepting money that wasn’t earmarked for Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) branding or sponsorships.
Division III schools are prohibited from awarding scholarships for athletics. Students can only receive money from merit-based financial aid or FAFSA.
Student-athletes in Division III are not allowed to accept outside financial assistance that pays for tuition unless it fits into the structure of financial aid or NIL guidelines.
“I don’t think some NCAA rules are fair to everyone,” Bati wrote in the post titled “Night Run.”
“But the NCAA saw that support and said it was a violation. Because of that, I can’t run indoor or outdoor (track) this year,” he said.
Bati acknowledged he had violated the rules set by the NCAA, but argued there wasn’t any malicious intent.
“They said someone paying for my school breaks the rule. I understand that’s their rule, but I don’t think they look at the story behind it. Sometimes people get help because life is hard. Not everyone has money. Sometimes it’s just one moment, one time, trying to survive and move forward,” he wrote.
“It feels sad that instead of seeing support as community love, it’s seen as something wrong. I didn’t get paid. I didn’t get something crazy. Just help to stay in school. And because of that, I’m not allowed to run. That part is not easy to accept. I worked hard. I love running. I wanted to run this season with my teammates, make memories in my last year,” Bati argued.
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The Post has reached out to Augsburg University and the NCAA.
The Ethiopian native who graduated from Highland Park High School in St. Paul, Minn. remained appreciative of the community’s help despite the seemingly unceremonious end to his collegiate career.
“I’m still grateful. I’m thankful for everyone who helped me, who believed in me. I’ve been through a lot in life, and this is just another challenge. It will not break me. I’m not disappearing. I’m still here, still training, still smiling, still fighting for my dreams,” he said. “Thank you to my community, thank you to everyone who supports me. I will keep going.”
During his senior year fall semester, Bati has forced himself into a routine not for the faint of heart.
The dedicated runner worked five days a week at an assisted living facility from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. before he drove to campus and ran 10 miles, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
After his morning run, the nursing major would attend a full day of classes, finishing the day with another 10-mile run and dinner before heading back to his overnight shift.
Bati says he wouldn’t sleep, instead taking naps when he could, the outlet reported.
He found cross-country success through his training as he won his record-setting fourth MIAC conference title before finishing second at the 2025 Men’s 8,000 Meters Division III Championship.
During his decorated collegiate career, Bati won multiple conference championships, two regional NCAA track championships and silver at cross country nationals in November.
Bati ran a personal best 23:39.6, four seconds behind Emmanuel Leblond, the national champion from Johns Hopkins, and edged out Cornell College’s Isaac vanWestrienen by only .2 seconds for second place.
Bati placed 11th at the California International Marathon in Sacramento on Dec. 7, where he crossed the finish line with a time of 2:12:27, one of the fastest marathon finishes by a Division 3 athlete, according to the Marathon Handbook.
Bati’s spectacular performance at the Sacramento race qualified him for the Boston Marathon in April and the 2028 Olympic Trials.
