Today’s the day. Shabazz Muhammad’s appeal will be heard by the NCAA, bringing at a months-long ordeal at least one step closer to conclusion. Barring unexpected delays, a result should be determined to either make him eligible immediately, or force him to go through a reinstatement process. Ben Howland said after the Bruins’ Thursday night win that he was “praying and hopeful,” which is probably what everyone else in the program is feeling as well. The big development in past days was the L.A. Times’ report that an attorney overheard someone on a flight say that his girlfriend — who appears to be Abigail Granstein, the lead investigator in the Muhammad case — That the account is about three levels of hearsay doesn’t particularly matter, given that the NCAA doesn’t operate by the U.S. judicial system.

We’ll find out today whether that late flurry of negative PR nudges the NCAA to back off Muhammad or stand by its findings. At this point in, neither result would be surprising in what has become a circus of an investigation.

From the NCAA:

UCLA student-athlete Shabazz Muhammad is not eligible to compete in tonight’s game due to violations of NCAA amateurism rules. In addition to other pending issues, Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools.

The university and the NCAA enforcement staff agreed on the set of facts in the case, which led to the determination that a violation occurred. NCAA member schools have established standards to determine when an individual may provide financial assistance to student-athletes. These criteria, which were not met in this case, are in place to identify when benefits are provided based on a student-athlete’s athletic ability.

The NCAA is committed to providing thorough, yet timely decisions regarding student-athlete eligibility. The expediency of these decisions can hinge on the level of timely cooperation of all involved parties.

In the case of Muhammad, the NCAA staff requested specific documents on July 31 to assist in the evaluation of Muhammad’s eligibility. However, the NCAA enforcement staff did not receive the majority of the requested documents for review until September 25, followed by more information on October 10, and additional critical information on November 1.

After reviewing thousands of pages of information, the NCAA interviewed Muhammad’s parents last week. The staff and the university then submitted the agreed-upon facts the afternoon of November 9. The NCAA then rendered a decision within a matter of hours. As demonstrated by the facts, we are committed to resolving the remaining matters as quickly as possible.

More to come, but here’s the statement from the school and AD Dan Guerrero:

The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family. As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.

The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz. UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family.