THE SIDELINES : Russo Turns Down Brown Offer

Brown University today acknowledged that Lafayette head Coach Bill Russo turned down the top coaching spot at the Ivy League school but would not comment on reports that a Nebraska coach had also been offered the post.

“Russo was offered the job and did not accept it,” said Brown athletic department spokesman Christopher Humm.

Russo, a former Brown assistant coach and linebacker, visited Brown last week but turned down the offer because of family considerations and “the support I’ve received from the Lafayette administration.”

Humm would not confirm that Ron Brown, another former Brown football player and the receiver coach at Nebraska, had also been offered the job, vacated earlier this month when John Rosenberg resigned.