Big 10-Bound Penn State Gets Pink Slip

Big Ten-bound Penn State has been sent a letter by Atlantic 10 officials suggesting the school leave the conference by June 30, the Pittsburgh Press reported today.

The decision was reached Wednesday in a telephone conference call involving the athletic directors of nine of the 10 conference schools, the newspaper reported. Penn State, which announced Tuesday it would join the Big Ten, declined to participate in the call.

The Providence Journal-Bulletin reported today that Rhode Island Athletic Director McKinley Boston told Commissioner Ron Bertovich to tell Penn State to sever its ties with the Atlantic 10 after this season.

“The conference does not support their lame-duck status,” Boston said. “We are 100% against it. If they are leaving, they should just go. Basically, they should be through when their commitment to us runs out on June 30.”

Penn State has said it intends to remain in the Atlantic 10 through the 1990-91 season, but Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bertovich, who is currently negotiating future television contracts, also said he does not like the Nittany Lions’ lame-duck status.

Penn State President Bryce Jordan has declined to reveal the school’s plans concerning the Atlantic 10, saying, “I just wouldn’t be interested in commenting until I saw the letter.”

Should Penn State inform each Atlantic 10 member of its withdrawal by Dec. 31, it can leave the league as of June 30. If Penn State waits until June 30, it will have to wait until June 30, 1991, or 1992.

Penn State could conceivably begin competing in some Big Ten sports next fall, although it cannot start playing conference teams in basketball until at least the 1991-92 season. It expects to begin competing in football in the mid-1990s.

Some Big Ten schools are booked through 1998.