NCAA Turns Down Plea to Let Florida Go to a Bowl Game

The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rejected an offer from the University of Florida to swap a bowl ban for cuts in football scholarships over two years, school officials announced today.

School President John Lombardi’s proposal that the ban on 1990 postseason play be lifted in exchange for 12 scholarship cuts over two seasons was turned down by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

Violations by former Florida football Coach Galen Hall and former basketball Coach Norm Sloan were cited by the NCAA, which placed the school’s football and basketball programs on two years’ probation.

Coach Steve Spurrier, whose team is off to a 4-0 start and ranked No. 10, had pushed for an appeal because the NCAA also made Florida ineligible to win the Southeastern Conference championship. The Gators (2-0 in the SEC) are the league’s only unbeaten, untied team heading into Saturday night’s game against Louisiana State.

“We all knew that this was a long shot, but it was a necessary step we had to take,” Lombardi said.