NCAA Puts New Mexico State on Notice

New Mexico State’s basketball team could face two years’ probation and other sanctions if the NCAA upholds 11 charges, mostly of academic eligibility fraud.

In a letter of inquiry sent to the school, the NCAA said the case “appears to be major.”

Besides possible probation, the Aggies could have restrictions placed on recruiting and financial aid to athletes.

The letter alleges assistant coaches Chris Nordquist and Gar Forman had a hand in providing tests and papers for players to gain fraudulent eligibility through correspondence courses at two schools in the Southeast.

Neither coach could be reached immediately for comment.

University President Michael Orenduff said New Mexico State uncovered all 11 allegations itself.

A copy of the letter obtained from the university had the names of athletes blacked out, so it was not immediately possible to determine how many players were involved.

The NCAA letter contends the university failed to adequately oversee the academic side of its basketball program.

The letter instructs the school to respond by Dec. 24 and says Athletic Director Al Gonzales and Coach Neil McCarthy among others are to appear before the infractions committee.

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Prize New Mexico basketball recruit Kenny Thomas could be allowed to practice with the Lobos on Friday if a judge rules in his favor on a lawsuit filed against UNM and the NCAA.

Thomas’ lawsuit, filed in state district court in Albuquerque with his parents as co-plaintiffs, seeks to restore his scholarship, claiming his ability to obtain a college degree would be irreparably harmed without basketball. They also ask that Thomas be allowed to play basketball while the lawsuit is in court.

Thomas was told during his first week of school that he had been stripped of his scholarship and was ineligible to play this year because a class he took in ninth grade at El Paso’s Austin High School was remedial.

Jurisprudence

Don King’s income tripled to $60 million after he took in then-boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, but the promoter still would not let his employees sign checks for as little as a nickel, his former accountant testified in New York.

Joseph Maffia took the stand as a key witness in the government’s attempt to convince a jury that King faked a contract in 1981 to collect $350,000 from Lloyd’s of London after a fight was canceled.

The former controller for King from 1986 to 1991 testified that King’s company, Don King Productions, had annual gross income of between $10 million and $20 million before Tyson came aboard in 1986.

He said the annual revenues grew to as much as $60 million with the arrival of Tyson and the emergence of pay-per-view television.

The accountant said King refused his suggestions that the flamboyant promoter allow himself or one other employee to sign small checks without his approval.

A former NFL executive pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to participating in a scheme to defraud the league of $350,000.

Brian Hughes admitted to one count of mail fraud in connection with submitting fraudulent invoices for goods.

Michael Ornstein, another former NFL executive, pleaded guilty to similar charges Oct. 16. Hughes and Ornstein face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines under the teams of their plea agreements.

Former Russian hockey star Nikolai Yasinovski, now a professional bodybuilder in the Pacific Northwest, has been arrested on the East Coast in the illegal importation of steroids into the United States, sheriff’s detectives in Portland, Ore., said.

Miscellany

Michael Stich of Germany, the 1991 Wimbledon champion, will be sidelined for at least six weeks because of ligament injuries in his left foot. . . . Second-seeded Alberto Costa defeated fellow Spaniard Jordi Arrese, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), in the first round of the Hellmann’s Cup at Santiago, Chile. Fourth-seeded Francisco Clavet of Spain fell to Brazilian qualifier Jaime Oncins, 6-3, 6-2.

Masters champion Ben Crenshaw had a stone removed from his left kidney, but doctors expect him to be ready to play in the Tour Championship later this week.

Travis Roy, the Boston University hockey player who was paralyzed from the neck down after crashing head-first into the boards, remained in guarded condition after undergoing several hours of surgery.

Huntington Beach diving coach Glenn McCormick, who was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in May, died of cancer Saturday. He was 69.

Reacting to the deaths of two British boxers in the last 18 months, promoter Frank Warren is setting up a trust fund to finance sophisticated brain scans for all British fighters.

Sammy Fuentes, the World Boxing Organization junior-welterweight champion, defeated Juanito Soberanes in a non-title fight at the Forum when Soberanes could not answer the bell for the fifth round.