Purdue’s Basketball Program Hit With Two-Year Probation

The NCAA slapped Purdue with a two-year probation Wednesday for major rules violations in the men’s basketball program and recommended the university be forced to pay more than $380,000 in penalties.

The Boilermakers were spared bans from postseason tournaments as well as any restrictions on television appearances, and Coach Gene Keady was not cited.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university violated rules regarding recruiting, extra benefits and ethical conduct.

There were also several secondary violations by the NCAA champion women’s basketball team, though none was considered serious and no sanctions were leveled against the program.

Most of the sanctions involved assistant coach Frank Kendrick, who met with then-recruit Jamaal Davis in the summer of 1996 during a period when coaches are barred from contact with recruits. Kendrick also allegedly helped secure a loan for former player Luther Clay.

Athletic Director Morgan Burke disputed the facts involving the loan and called the discipline harsh, saying the school will appeal.

The penalties include a reduction of one scholarship from the men’s basketball team, limited recruiting visits to the school and a recommendation the NCAA force Purdue to pay back most of the proceeds from appearances in the NCAA tournament.

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Texas A&M; point guard Clifton Cook, the Big 12 Conference’s newcomer of the year, has been ruled academically ineligible.

College Football

The bowl championship series modified its guidelines for selecting teams by adding more computer rankings and toughening eligibility standards for one of the four major games.

Also, in a move seemingly aimed at the Big East, weaker conferences could be stripped of automatic bids if they fail to remain among the nation’s elite during a four-year period.

The BCS tightened requirements for at-large berths. Last year, teams needed either eight victories or no worse than a 12th-place finish in the BCS standings. Now, teams must have nine regular-season wins over NCAA Division I-A opponents and at least a No. 12 ranking.

Investigators in Ann Arbor, Mich., plan to ask county prosecutors next week for felony warrants charging two Michigan football players and a former teammate with embezzlement and conspiracy to commit embezzlement after being accused of stealing merchandise from a Kmart store.

Offensive linemen Jonathan Goodwin and Maurice Williams and former fullback Demetrius Smith were described as being part of a six-person embezzlement ring in 14th District Court documents.

Iowa quarterback Randy Reiners, arrested for the second time in 18 months on an alcohol charge, probably faces a suspension for violating school policy. Reiners, who started four games last season, is one of three quarterbacks fighting for the starting job.

UCLA was among 26 schools commended by the American Football Coaches Assn. for graduating at least 70% of its 1993-94 freshman class. Nineteen of 23 UCLA players (82.6%) have earned their degrees.

USC has graduated nine of 13 players from the same class, just missing the commendation with a 69.2% rate, but will reach 76.9% with the expected graduation of another player in August, a spokesman said.

Major League Soccer

Stern John scored the tying goal with three seconds left, his second of the game, and scored again in the shootout to lead the Columbus Crew past the San Jose Clash, 4-3, before 15,397 at Columbus, Ohio.

Petter Villegas scored the tying goal in regulation and then added a score in the shootout as the New York-New Jersey MetroStars ended a six-game MLS losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Mutiny before 11,012 in East Rutherford, N.J.

Miscellany

The Tour de France reluctantly lifted its drug- related ban on rider Richard Virenque, but general director Jean-Marie Leblanc said there will be a legal fight to restore the suspension. . . . Equestrian events at next year’s Sydney Olympics will go ahead as planned after a quarantine agreement between organizers and the Australian government. Australia’s strict quarantine laws stopped equestrian events being held in Melbourne during the 1956 Olympics and they were moved to Stockholm. . . . The leading sailboats in the 40th Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii were nearly becalmed Wednesday, with only four of the leaders near 110 miles from the starting point in Los Angeles Harbor.

San Francisco 49er co-owner Eddie DeBartolo met with his sister in Cleveland in an attempt to resolve an ongoing battle over the ownership of the football team. DeBartolo may be willing to give up his share of the 49ers to help settle legal problems with sister Denise DeBartolo York. . . . Marion Jones began her quest for the $1-million Golden League jackpot by winning the 200 meters in a time of 22.13 seconds at the Bislett Games in Oslo. A $1-million jackpot will be shared among any athletes who win events in all seven Golden League meets in Oslo, Rome, Monaco, Zurich, Brussels, Berlin and Paris. . . . A judge in Pakistan has been appointed to investigate match-fixing and betting allegations against Pakistan’s World Cup cricket team. . . . Walter Johnson, a former defensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns, has died at 56 after suffering a heart attack at his suburban Cleveland home. . . . Former Stanford kicker Eric Abrams, 25, was sentenced to two years in prison for sex crimes involving boys.