1. You don't have a clue how meets are run and 2. you did not read my post.
I didn't blame or put the burden on the Conference, I suggested that a courtesy call would have been a better way to deal with this. Also, if the Conference is like most conferences and posts performance list of entries prior to the meet, someone (the AF coaches) would have noticed their mistake and tried to fix it. There would have been time to do that without any issues as to setting up heats, etc. A late entry fine would have been the appropriate answer to the problem and that would have been the end of this.
To come up with a milktoast compromise of letting the athletes run but not score is like kissing your sister. It was not the best decision I would suggest. The team took a hit, the conference took a hit. I can't think of another sport where this kind of administrative decision would be made. It is as if track and field sets up roadblocks just to make the sport look unprofessional.
When was the last time that a basketball team was only allowed to play with 3 players, or the football team was only allowed to have 8 men on the field. Only in ice hockey do they play with a player or two sitting out for a major penalty, but not for the entire game.