The Knight Commission will meet after a four-year hiatus to see if recommendations it made have helped solve some problems that have plagued college athletics.

The independent commission was formed in 1990 to address runaway programs overseen by powerful coaches and athletic directors. The panel is made up of university presidents, the president of the NCAA, corporate sponsors and other officials.

The commission, named for the James L. Knight Foundation, will meet Aug. 28, Oct. 18 and Nov. 28 in Washington D.C..

The panel last met in 1996 after presenting three recommendations to the NCAA. The organization adopted in large part the Knight Commission reform slate, based on the commission's "one-plus-three" model, which makes the college president responsible for three key aspects of the athletic program: academic integrity, financial integrity and independent certification.

The commission's president, Hodding Carter III, said the group wants to see how far universities have come since the proposals were made.

"This is an opportunity to see what has been done to implement the reforms, to see how the terrain has or has not changed in 10 years," Carter said.

The panel's major recommendation was placing control of athletic programs in the hands of university presidents. The commission said athletic programs needed to be open about their financial dealings with sponsors and boosters, be tougher on their "no-pass, no-play" policies and raising academic requirements, and auditing departments annually.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Florida State will be young this season, and it will have to grow up fast. The Seminoles, who lost four starters, could play as many as 15 regular-season games against teams that reached the post-season last season. That schedule (see page 9C) begins with national runner-up Florida in the season opener Nov. 17, followed by Ohio State and then either DePaul, led by former FSU coach Pat Kennedy, or Syracuse in the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 22-25. The Seminoles begin ACC play against Duke on Jan. 4 at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. "We are very excited about the upcoming schedule," coach Steve Robinson said. "It gets us off to a fast and furious start, and allows us to play a number of national-caliber teams. Our team continues to work hard to be at the point where we are in theposition to play a top national schedule year in and year out." ... Kentucky coach Tubby Smith added David Hobbs and Reggie Hanson to his staff. Hobbs, a former coach at Alabama, joins the school as an assistant. He replaces Shawn Finney, named coach at Tulane in July. Hanson, who played for the Wildcats from 1988-91, was named administrative assistant. ... North Carolina announced that Jason Parker, a 6-foot-8 power forward, will not attend the university. Parker had been the aschool's top recruit. School officials and the Parker family refused to explain. ... Tony Kitchings had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a 76-70 victory against Basket Manresa in Spain for the Gamecocks' third win in a row on their overseas trip. ... Sophomore center Lauren Bradley scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Florida State to an 86-40 win against French professional team A.L.G.M. in Lyon, France. It was the first of four games for the Seminoles during a 10-day trip to France and Switzerland.

AUTO RACING: Todd Bodine will race in Sunday's Pepsi 400 at Michigan Speedway in place of Terry Labonte, who still is recovering from the effects of two wrecks in July. ... NASCAR fined Ricky Rudd's crew chief, Michael McSwain, $10,000 for car violations at Sunday's Global Crossing at the Glen. Rudd's car was found to have trailing arms lighter than specified. Rudd finished 11th.

COLLEGE BASEBALL: Senior right-hander Kip Bouknight said he would pass up an offer from the Oakland A's, who drafted him in the 21st round, and return for his final season at South Carolina.

MORE COLLEGES: The Soccer Buzz magazine Southeast Region preseason poll lists Florida's women No. 2 and Miami No. 7. Defending national champion North Carolina is No. 1. ... The NAIA is considering leaving its Tulsa, Okla., headquarters, eight years after it abruptly decided to leave Kansas City. The NAIA was in Kansas City 35 years. The NAIA sent 39 cities, including nearby Olathe, Kan., a proposal that outlined areas the cities should address in their proposals to the group.

HORSE RACING: Russell Baze moved to No. 5 all time on the wins list for jockeys in thoroughbred racing Monday, riding three winners at the San Mateo County (Calif.) Fair at Bay Meadows and passing Angel Cordero Jr. The victories gave Baze 7,059 for his career. Cordero retired with 7,057. Baze's next target is David Gall, who has 7,396.

BOXING: Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis agreed to fight David Tua, the IBF's top challenger, said the sports management firm Steinberg Moorad & Dunn. The fight, scheduled for Nov. 11, probably will be held in Toronto or Las Vegas, Lewis said in a statement. The fight will be shown on HBO and TVKO pay-per-view. The fight will be an IBF mandatory title defense for Lewis, who said he could make more than $10-million from it. Tua is guaranteed $3.5-million plus a percentage of pay-per-view profits. ... Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson probably will fight Andrew Golota on Oct. 20 in Detroit. Tyson tentatively had been scheduled to fight David Izon in early September, but that fight has been canceled. ... Promoter Bob Arum would have his license restricted for six months and pay a $125,000 fine for making a payoff to IBF founder Robert W. Lee under a proposed settlement to be considered by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

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