By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published March 12, 2004
WASHINGTON - Reports of sex and alcohol-fueled parties to entice high school players show colleges have not done enough to police themselves, a representative told Congress on Thursday.
"Up to this point institutions have said to us, "We can handle that,"' said Dave Berst, chairman of an NCAA task force reviewing recruiting rules. "I think the recent revelations that have come about ... require attention to the cultural issues and I believe it's the right opportunity to step in."
Options include shortening campus visits from 48 to 24 hours; prohibiting off-campus entertainment; reducing from five to three or four the number of visits a student can take; capping university spending on travel, meals and lodging and requiring athletes to cover the costs for any visits.
NCAA president Myles Brand created the task force after reports of unseemly recruiting tactics by Colorado and other schools. He wants changes in place before the football recruiting season.
Don McPherson, executive director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that the changes under considerations will not make a difference.
BASEBALL: In the first game at the major-league ballpark of the Padres, 42,000-seat Petco Park, Tony Gwynn's San Diego State and Houston played in front of 40,106 fans, the biggest crowd in history. The record was 27,673, set when LSU and Tulane played in the Superdome in 2002.
FOOTBALL: Brigham Young kicked one player off the team, suspended three until at least the 2005 spring semester and placed two on probation for violating the school's honor code. Names were not released. ... A judge issued an injunction blocking Don Brown from assuming his new position as Massachusetts coach because he "willfully and intentionally" breached his contract with Northeastern.
SOCCER: The USF men's team signed seven players: Rodrigo Hidalgo, Christian Jimenez, Osmany Hernandez, Freddy Hall, Frankie Slater, Colby West and Simon Schoendorf. Hidalgo and Jimenez were members of the under-17 U.S. national team residency program in Bradenton.
SOFTBALL: Florida got its 300th win with a 9-4 victory over Michigan State in Fullerton, Calif. ... Kim Hoffer's single drove in the winner as host Florida State beat Notre Dame 4-3 in 10 innings. ... Host Eckerd beat Tiffin 5-3 but lost 5-2 in Game 2.
TENNIS: The Florida women beat visiting William & Mary 7-0. ... USF dropped its fifth straight match 5-2 to host Furman.
IDITAROD: 4-time champ first to halfway point
Four-time champion Martin Buser received $4,000 in gold nuggets for arriving first in Cripple, Alaska, the official halfway mark. Three-time champion Jeff King arrived fourth but was the first musher to leave.
ET CETERA
BOXING: Lightweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. missed a court date on a charge of hitting the mother of three of his children, and an arrest warrant was issued. ... Hasim Rahman won by unanimous decision over Al "Ice" Cole in Glen Burnie, Md. It was the first victory by the former heavyweight champion in nearly three years.
HORSES: Tabasco Cat, winner of the 1994 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, died in Japan of a heart attack.
SAILING: Alfonso Domingos and crew Bernardo Santos held on to first place, assuring them of the Bacardi Cup championship when the Star Class Regatta ends in Miami.
SKIING: Hermann Maier won the season's last super-giant slalom at the World Cup Finals in Sestriere, Italy, and increased his lead in the overall standings. American Bode Miller missed a gate and finished out of the points for the second straight day, slipping to fourth in the overall standings.
