College football

Nevada Las Vegas officials have denied a published report that football coach Jim Strong would be relieved of his duties.

“We hope that this announcement will serve to end all speculation and enable all efforts in the football department to be directed toward recruiting and the future development of the program,” UNLV Athletic Director Jim Weaver said in a statement.

The Las Vegas Sun, in its Thursday editions, said that Strong, who has compiled a 14-19 record in three seasons at UNLV, and his attorneys met last Sunday with UNLV officials. The Sun reported that Strong was told of a plan to reassign him to the UNLV compliance department for the final two years of his contract, worth $105,833 per year.

College football attendance dropped more than 360,000 last season, according to figures compiled by the NCAA Statistics Service.

For all 674 four-year colleges with varsity teams, including 552 NCAA members, attendance for the 1992 season was 36,198,508, a drop of 367,372 from 1991.