Three reserve football players at the University...

Three reserve football players at the University of Oklahoma, accused of raping a 20-year-old woman in the athletic dormitory Jan. 21, were led away in handcuffs, the most recent incident in turmoil that caused officials to propose a series of remedial steps for the school’s athletic program.

The three, Nigel Clay of Fontana, Calif., Glen Bell of Muskogee, Okla., and Bernard Hall of Detroit, were suspended from school for two years, said Larry Naifeh, university legal counsel. If convicted on a first-degree rape charge, they will get no less than five years in prison.

Also, David Swank, the university’s interim president, made recommendations to the school’s board of regents in a meeting that also included sessions with Athletic Director Donnie Duncan and football Coach Barry Switzer.

Among other recent incidents in the athletic department was a shooting in the dormitory in which one football player was wounded and another was charged.

In December, the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. put the school’s football program on three years’ probation for recruiting violations.