JC Transfers May Have to Sit Out a Season

The NCAA Presidents Commission agreed Thursday to support a requirement that men’s basketball and football players who transfer from two-year colleges sit out one season before playing at NCAA Division I colleges.

NCAA members will vote on the proposed rule at their convention in January.

The NCAA Council proposed the change because of concerns about low graduation rates for transfer students in those two sports.

The latest graduation rate for two-year transfers in men’s basketball was 38%, compared to 44% for those who entered four-year schools as freshmen. The rates for football were 40% for transfers and 51% for those who entered as freshmen.

The Presidents Commission also agreed to suggest an amendment to exempt two-year transfers who have completed 40% of the requirements for the bachelor’s degree programs they have entered.

College Basketball

A school investigation has found that Fresno State Coach Jerry Tarkanian and his staff did not conduct improper summer workouts.

Fresno State investigated Tarkanian and his assistants in the wake of rumors that they had organized practices or watched pickup games during the off-season, which would have been a violation of NCAA rules.

“I have found absolutely no evidence to substantiate any rule violations,” interim Athletic Director Ben Quillian said.

New Mexico State President J. Michael Orenduff will announce internal penalties against the men’s program today, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

The Aggies are under investigation by the NCAA, which is looking into correspondence courses taken by junior college players who committed to play at New Mexico State.

Pro Basketball

The Dallas Mavericks have signed their No. 1 draft pick, Cherokee Parks. Contract terms were not released, but the NBA’s new rookie salary scale calls for Parks to receive between $2.8 million and $3.35 million for three years.

Parks, a 6-foot-10 forward from Duke and Huntington Beach Marina High, was the No. 12 pick overall.

The Detroit Pistons have signed first-round draft pick Theo Ratliff, the 18th pick in the NBA draft. His contract will pay him between $2.05 million and $2.46 million over three years.

Ratliff, a 6-9 1/2 center-forward, averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds at Wyoming.

Cleveland’s Gund Arena has been selected as the site of the 1997 NBA All-Star game. The 1996 game will be played in San Antonio.

Hockey

Mark Howe retired from the Detroit Red Wings as the second-highest scoring defenseman in professional hockey history after 22 seasons in two leagues.

Howe, 40, accepted a front-office position with the Red Wings.

He played 16 seasons in the NHL, compiling 197 goals and 545 assists in 929 games. He also scored 504 points in six World Hockey Assn. seasons. Detroit’s Paul Coffey scored 1,336 points in 1,078 NHL games.

Left wing Luc Robitaille signed a multiyear contract with the New York Rangers. . . . Center Trevor Linden signed a $7.2-million, three-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

Tennis

Top-seeded Boris Becker defeated France’s Yannick Noah, 6-4, 7-5, and reached the quarterfinals of the $1-million Swiss Open at Basel. No. 5 Jim Courier defeated Lionel Roux of France, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), and Stefan Edberg of Sweden defeated Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4.

Third-seeded Lindsay Davenport of the United States was upset by Joanette Kruger of South Africa, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the WTA tournament at Leipzig, Germany.

Tim Wilkison defeated second-seeded Bjorn Borg, 6-0, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the over-35 event at Thousand Oaks. Wilkison will play the winner of the late match between Jose-Luis Clerc and Johan Kriek.

Golf

PGA Tour rookie Bill Porter shot a seven-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead in the first round of the Buick Challenge at Pine Mountain, Ga. Steve Lowery, Steve Stricker and Larry Mize shared second with 66s.

Hiromi Kobayashi made six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to take the first-round lead of the $500,000 LPGA Fieldcrest-Cannon Classic at Cornelius, N.C., with a seven-under-par 65.

Seve Ballesteros is taking a five-month break from golf, hoping the pause will help cure back troubles and improve his sagging game.

Jurisprudence

Senior golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez has settled his lawsuit over the use of his name by a drag queen in the movie “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.” Terms were not disclosed. . . . Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson met with 15 troubled teens in Warren, Ohio, in beginning the 400 hours of community service he was ordered to perform after his 1992 conviction for rape.