Alabama Gains Ground In Scrimmage With Ncaa Over Football Sanctions

Though it is still prohibited from playing in a bowl game this season, the University of Alabama had sanctions against its football team modified Thursday in the first significant reduction of penalties levied by the National College Athletic Association’s infractions committee.

A third year of probation was dropped, nine football scholarships were restored and a faculty representative was cleared of charges of unethical conduct by the NCAA infractions appeals committee.

After the announcement, the embattled football coach, Gene Stallings, said he would return next season.

The University of Miami said that it expected to learn today of sanctions against its football program. If a bowl prohibition is to be assessed, Miami officials have said they want to begin serving the punishment immediately by skipping a bowl appearance this season.

Miami was expected to face Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, but the absence of the Hurricanes would force a shuffling of pairings and put Big East co-champion Virginia Tech in a major bowl.

The five-person NCAA appellate panel that ruled in the Alabama case is composed of college administrators and independent legal experts. It was formed in 1993 in response to criticism that the NCAA infractions committee served as both judge and jury in meting out penalties for rules violations.

The appeals committee has heard five previous cases, granting only minor relief in one.

Last August, the Crimson Tide was banned from postseason play for a year, placed on probation through the 1997 season and sanctioned with the loss of more than 25 scholarships. The violations resulted from improper loans that former running back Gene Jelks received through two boosters and from the improper signing with an agent by former defensive back Antonio Langham.