IN BRIEF : No Early NCAA Action on Tarkanian

The NCAA Committee on Infractions will not consider any response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision involving Nevada-Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian until April at the earliest, an NCAA spokesman said.

Members of the committee will be briefed on the decision at the NCAA convention in San Francisco next week. But the committee will not be prepared to take any action when it holds its next formal meeting at San Diego Feb. 3-5, NCAA spokesman David Berst said.

The high court ruled Dec. 12 that the NCAA was a private agency and does not have to consider due process when ordering a member institution to suspend a coach. The high court decision presented a Catch-22 for public colleges and universities, saying the schools would be required to afford due process when carrying out NCAA-ordered suspensions.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision ended a legal battle that began in 1977 when Nevada-Las Vegas was placed on two years probation for basketball recruiting violations. The NCAA also ordered Tarkanian suspended for two years.