Ticket Violations at Tennessee and Texas, Too

Football players at Tennessee and Texas were reported to have arranged free passes last season for friends who were neither students nor family members.

Pass lists to Texas games in 1985 showed that 46 players requested that their complimentary tickets go to people described as friends, the Austin American-Statesman reported Friday.

National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules state that only students or family members may receive complimentary tickets. The “friend” designation disappeared after two games because the NCAA clarified the rule to prohibit friends who were not students or relatives from receiving passes, Texas officials said.

At Tennessee, 28 players gave away complimentary game passes, involving 350 violations of the NCAA pass rule, the Knoxville Journal reported.

Two Tennessee players--kicker Carlos Reveiz and linebacker Kelly Zegler--already are under one-game suspensions for violating the ticket rules. Friday, eight more players, all reserves, were suspended from today’s season opener against New Mexico, a game in which Tennessee is favored by 23 points.

The decision was made after consultation with university officials, the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA, said Doug Dickey, the Volunteers’ athletic director.