Minnesota Player Held Out of Game; Eligibility Questioned

Minnesota basketball player Terence Woods was held out of Saturday’s Big Ten game against Wisconsin while the university prepared a report for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. on his eligibility.

Woods, a junior, did not play Thursday night against Northwestern after university officials said they learned he received an airplane ticket last June that was arranged by the basketball program and paid for by the athletic department, the Minneapolis Star and Tribune reported Saturday.

Officials said the ticket payment may have violated NCAA rules that allow schools to finance one campus visit for prospective recruits, according to the newspaper. Woods, who last season attended McLennan Community College in Waco, Tex., made his official recruiting visit to Minnesota in May.

Last Wednesday, Woods reportedly paid the university for the ticket, eight months later--and one day after the university learned it had paid for both flights. But an NCAA enforcement officer said the payment would not exonerate the university if a violation occurred.