As a director of a women's athletics program and a trustee of the Women's Sports Foundation, I am sensitive to the fact that the commission's proposed scholarship reductions discriminate against female athletes.

The commission's proposed scholarship reductions would save my institution approximately $77,000.

But the severity of the action by the Pacific-10 Conference - two years without a bowl game, two years of scholarship reductions - was a shock to the players in that room.

I'm not convinced that scholarship reductions are a major reason that top-seeded teams are losing to lower-seeded teams.

Kramer said his conference would work for an easing of the scholarship reductions from 10 percent to 5 percent.

Teams that do not earn an Academic Progress Rate above specific benchmarks face penalties ranging from scholarship reductions to more severe sanctions like restrictions on scholarships and practice time.

When the NCAA rendered its decision banning USC from postseason play for two years and imposing severe scholarship reductions, Henderson asked to be released from his commitment to USC.

Bowden's hiring occurred while the program faced NCAA sanctions, which included scholarship reductions, a one-year television ban, and a two-year postseason ban.

The reason for the scholarship reduction, according to the N.C.A.A., is it and other measures will help to curtail the spiraling costs in education generally.

The Georgia Tech Athletic Department appealed this decision by the NCAA, and the records were restored but scholarship reductions and probation remained.