The opportunity for the Nihon University Phoenix to have a chance to defend their national collegiate championship has been denied.
On Tuesday night, the Kantoh Collegiate Football Association announced it refused to lift the season-long ban it handed to the Phoenix in May after an illegal tackle incident on May 6, when a Nihon University defensive player tackled a Kwansei Gakuin University quarterback a few seconds after the whistle was blown during an exhibition game.
As a result, the Phoenix will lose all the seven games in the Top 8 league this season by default, and they will be automatically demoted to the lower Big 8 division for the 2019 campaign.