Alabama State Placed on Probation

Alabama State University has been publicly censured and placed on probation until Dec. 30, 1986, for violations in its football program, the NCAA announced Tuesday.

The violations involved the ineligible participation of several football players during the 1984-1985 academic year, the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. said in a news release issued in Shawnee Mission, Kan.

The university is required by the NCAA to take action against head football Coach Jim Parker that will at least preclude him from participating in any off-campus recruiting during the 1985-1986 academic year. The action also bars Parker from further participation in the determination of eligibility of players.

Asked if Parker would be forced to resign, university President Leon Howard said: “We have not ruled out any possibilities or entertained any options.”

However, the Advertiser, a Montgomery newspaper, reported Sunday that Howard had already sent a letter to Parker saying the school’s board of trustees instructed him to request Parker’s resignation.