Embattled Reid Gets Fired by BYU

Roger Reid, who won at least 20 games in six of his seven seasons at Brigham Young, was abruptly fired Tuesday after a turbulent 1-6 start to this season.

BYU athletics officials said Reid would “step down” as coach and remain at the university in an unspecified capacity. Assistant Tony Ingle was named interim coach.

Reid, 49, led the Cougars to five NCAA tournament appearances and three Western Athletic Conference titles, and his 152-77 record is the best winning percentage (66.4%) in school history. He became embroiled in controversy last month over remarks to a prized recruit--Irvine Woodbridge High center Chris Burgess, a Mormon--who chose Duke over BYU.

Burgess said Reid told him he had let down “nine million Mormons and the prophet and apostles” of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns BYU by choosing Duke.

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Point guard Jacque Vaughn has been cleared by team doctors to begin practicing with top-ranked Kansas after missing the last three months because of a wrist injury.

The 6-foot-1 Vaughn suffered torn ligaments in his right wrist while playing in a pick-up game Sept. 10. He underwent surgery to repair the injury three days later.

Dean Buchan, an athletic department spokesman, said Vaughn might return in early January.

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Missouri has lost its appeal and must return almost $97,000 earned from the 1994 NCAA tournament.

The NCAA decision to penalize the school came because former player Jevon Crudup accepted extra benefits from an agent.

The university’s appeal to the NCAA executive committee at a Dec. 6 meeting in Kansas City was rejected, said Tricia Bork, a committee spokeswoman.

The decision also nullifies Missouri’s three victories in the 1994 tournament.

The university’s appeal focused on the order to return the money. The school argued it was not involved in Crudup’s actions, which were self-reported by Missouri when they were discovered in 1994 after Crudup completed his eligibility, said Joe Castiglione, Missouri athletic director.

When a school uses an ineligible player in the NCAA tournament, the NCAA can withhold as much as 90% of the school’s revenue above expenses for participation.

The university’s 1994 tournament earnings were $215,052, and the NCAA asked it to pay back $96,774.

The violations involving Crudup were first reported in November 1994. According to published reports, wire transfer records obtained by the Florida state attorney’s office and campus police linked agents to at least six college athletes, including Crudup, a 6-9 center.