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Neuheisel: School okayed pool betting

SEATTLE - Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel says a school e-mail gave him permission to participate in an NCAA basketball tournament betting pool.

The NCAA prohibits gambling by college coaches on college sports. Doing so can be a major rules violation.

The four-paragraph e-mail, dated March 13 and attributed to Dana Richardson, assistant athletic director for compliance, was released by the athletic department Monday. The last paragraph reads: "If you have friends outside of ICA (intercollegiate athletes) that have pools on any of the basketball tournaments, you can participate. You cannot place bets with a bookie or organize your own pool inside or outside of ICA."

The NCAA manual specifies a minimum one-year suspension if Neuheisel is found to have committed a violation. The school could be penalized.

FOOTBALL: Florida A&M submitted its application to the NCAA to move to Division I-A from I-AA. No historically black college is in I-A. FAMU, which hopes to move by the 2004 season, expects an answer by Aug. 1.

ACC: Leaders at Duke and North Carolina have concerns about adding Miami, Syracuse and Boston College to the ACC and might vote against expansion. The ACC needs the approval of at least seven in the nine-team league. Duke president Nan Keohane, in an e-mail to colleagues, said the Blue Devils were prepared to vote against expansion unless the league addressed student welfare, travel costs and divisional alignment. UNC president James Moeser sent a similar letter to league presidents Thursday.

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENTS: A Tulane board decides the athletic department's fate today; it loses $7-million annually. Options include leaving the program as is, dropping football or keeping football and moving to Division III. ... UConn AD Lew Perkins will take a similar job at Kansas after overseeing the Huskies' emergence as a national basketball power, the Associated Press reported.

BASKETBALL: Ex-LSU starter Roneeka Hodges transferred to Florida State. Hodges, who averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds last season, will sit out 2003-04 and have one year of eligibility left.

SOFTBALL: USF coach Ken Eriksen was named to the staff of the 2003 Pan Am and '04 Olympic teams. Eriksen and Stanford's John Rittman will assist coach Mike Candrea of Arizona. The United States seeks its fifth straight Pam Am title Aug. 1-17 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In seven seasons, Eriksen is 313-172-1.

Vitali Klitschko will fight Lennox Lewis earlier than expected. Lewis will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Klitschko on June 21 in Los Angeles. Lewis' scheduled opponent, Kirk Johnson, dropped out after tearing a chest muscle in training.

French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero overtook Andre Agassi atop the ATP Champions Race standings, and women's titlist Justine Henin-Hardenne moved past Venus Williams into third in the WTA Tour rankings. Serena Williams remained No. 1.

TOURNAMENTS: Wesley Chapel's Ashley Harkleroad was routed in a Grand Prix tournament in Vienna, Austria, losing 6-0, 6-0 to Clarisa Fernandez. ... Anna Kournikova withdrew from the DFS Classic in Birmingham, England, aggravating a back injury. ... Former Wimbledon champ Goran Ivanisevic, who had minor foot surgery in April, fell 6-2, 6-2 to Jan Vacek at the Queen's Club tournament in London. Americans Jan-Michael Gambill and Todd Martin advanced. ... Venus Williams will play for the United States in the Fed Cup quarterfinals against Italy on July 19-20 in Washington.

CYCLING: Four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was fourth after the first stage of the Dauphine Libere in France. Spain's Iban Mayo led overall, 11 seconds ahead of Armstrong.

NHL: Billionaire Eugene Melnyk reached an agreement to purchase all assets of Palladium Corp., including the Ottawa Senators and the Corel Centre. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SOCCER: The Women's World Cup final will be played Oct. 12 at the Home Depot Stadium in Carson, Calif., the Chicago Tribune reported. Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., Civic Stadium in Portland, Ore., Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and RFK Stadium in Washington will be among the sites of the 16-team tournament, according to the Tribune. ... Japan trounced the Philippines 15-0 in the Asian Women's Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.