Reports: Minnesota Gets Four-Year Probation

The NCAA has put the University of Minnesota men’s basketball program on probation for four years and cut an additional scholarship as penalties for academic fraud in the program, according to published reports confirmed by a school official.

The Gophers will not be banned from another year of postseason play, the reports said. In what appears to be a victory for the university, the NCAA infractions committee imposed little more punishment than what already had been self-imposed by the school, it was reported Monday night by the Star Tribune and Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

The school official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday night the substance of the newspapers’ reports.

The NCAA commended Minnesota for its investigation and comprehensive self-punishment, which included an offer to repay 90% of its money for playing in the 1994, 1995 and 1997 NCAA basketball tournaments, according to the reports.

But the NCAA ordered that team records from the NCAA tournament and National Invitation Tournament--and the tournament records of players engaged in academic fraud from the 1993-94 season through 1998-99--be vacated. That includes the Final Four season of 1997, the Star Tribune reported.

Former coach Clem Haskins’ record will also be stripped of those tournament victories and any mention of the Final Four appearance, the only one in school history.

The NCAA Infractions Committee’s report found that Jan Gangelhoff, a former office manager in the university’s academic counseling unit, completed coursework for at least 18 basketball players--and that former academic adviser Alonzo Newby arranged the work with Haskins’ knowledge, the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press both reported.

“The violations were significant, widespread and intentional,” the NCAA ruled, according to the Star Tribune. “More than that, their nature--academic fraud--undermined the bedrock foundation of a university and the operation of its intercollegiate athletics program.”

Mark Rotenberg, the university’s general counsel, declined Monday night to respond to the NCAA’s assertions, which were to be formally received by the school today.

Miscellany

The International Olympic Committee disqualified German wrestler Alexander Leipold for using a banned steroid, giving the gold medal in the 167 1/2-pound freestyle class to Brandon Slay of the United States, who lost to Leipold in the final at Sydney, Australia.

Slay said his gold medal is even sweeter because he knew “the agony of defeat before the thrill of victory.”

Leipold was the third gold medalist from the Sydney Games to be disqualified because of the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

French cycling star Richard Virenque and nine others went on trial in Lille, France, in connection with a drug scandal that nearly wrecked the 1998 Tour de France and raised questions about the growing use of illegal substances by athletes.

Former Festina trainer Bruno Roussel told the court that the demand for drugs by riders on the team was “real, omnipresent.”

Virenque and his team were expelled from the 1998 Tour after a team masseur was caught with a stash of drugs and officials admitted to systematic doping.

Virenque, a top mountain climber, has insisted he never knowingly took banned substances.

However, Roussel, who had revealed the extent of Festina doping, said the 30-year-old rider “could not take doping products against his will.”

Jury selection began in Charlotte, N.C., in the murder trial of ex-NFL player Rae Carruth, accused of masterminding the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend to avoid paying child support.

No jurors were selected in the first day.

When court recessed, the judge had dismissed two potential jurors who said they opposed the death penalty. Another was let go because she had attention-deficit disorder and a fourth was dismissed because he knew people on the witness list.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Carruth could be sentenced to death.

Torrance police are investigating an incident that led to the arrests of two men for allegedly assaulting South Torrance High football coaches Friday night.

John Martinez, 34, and Anthony Martinez, 23, both of Lomita, were booked on suspicion of battery and were released following the incident that occurred after South Torrance’s 24-21 loss at North Torrance, Sgt. Kevin Kreager of the Torrance Police Dept. said.

Kreager said the incident apparently began when one of the men approached South Torrance Coach Brett Peabody and questioned him about a relative’s playing time. J.P. Martinez, John Martinez’s son, is a senior running back for South Torrance.

Kreager said Peabody turned to walk away and was allegedly struck several times by one of the men. Another coach came to aid Peabody and also was allegedly struck, Kreager said.

He said that the coaches suffered minor injuries.

The case will be reviewed by the city prosecutor, who will decide whether charges will be filed, Kreager said.

Lindsay Davenport will play for the United States in next month’s 2000 Fed Cup World Finals at Las Vegas.

U.S. Fed Cup captain Billie Jean King has until Nov. 10 to nominate the remaining American team members for the semifinal and final matches.

The Americans will play Belgium, and Spain will face the Czech Republic in the semifinals on Nov. 21-22. The semifinal winners will meet in the two-day Fed Cup Finals on Nov. 24-25.

Barry Barnes retired as coach of Australia’s national men’s basketball team following a fourth-place finish in the Sydney Olympics.