In the mid-1950's, Georgetown's administration began a zero-tolerance policy for athletes. A poor score on any mid-term exam was cause for immediate suspension from a team. As many as a dozen players from 1954 to 1956 fell victim to this judgment, the first of which was 6-4 sophomore forward Bill Cowley.

Cowley, a star at St. John's Prep, made an immediate impact as a sophomore, combining for 56 points in his first three games and scoring 27 in the Hoyas' 58-49 loss to #14 LaSalle on Dec. 18, 1953. Cowley scored in double figures in 12 of his first 17 games, including back to back 20 point games during a western Pennsylvania road trip.

In this era, exams were taken in mid-January, not mid-December. When grades were posted at month's end, four Georgetown players, including Cowley, were taken off the team.

"Lost down the academic path were Bill Cowley, Tom Heyman, Tom Doyle, and Bob Scott," wrote the Ye Domesday Booke yearbook in 1954. "The loss of Cowley was the one that knocked the heart out of the Hoyas. Cowley had averaged 15.4 points per game and 262 markers when the axe hit him."

Cowley transferred to St. John's University, averaging 9.5 points in two seasons for the Redmen.