ORONO, Maine (AP) -- Maine Athletic Director Mike Ploszek denies
the latest allegation that he planned to conceal eligibility
problems from the NCAA.
        Associate Director of Athletics Anne R. McCoy's accusation
contradicts a recent report by Stanley Tupper, a former Maine
congressman, that there was no evidence a cover-up was contemplated
by university officials.
        McCoy told the Portland Press Herald that Ploszek informed her
of Maine's eligibility problems and then said he would ``feign
ignorance'' if they became public. McCoy also said she had reported
the conversation to university President Frederick Hutchinson and
to Tupper.
        Ploszek denied the charge.
        ``I flat out did not say that,'' he said. ``I've been through
all of this with Mr. Tupper, and I'll leave it at that.''
        Hutchinson and Tupper said they remembered speaking with McCoy
but didn't remember her reporting the allegation that Ploszek
planned to hide the NCAA violations.
        ``That's just not true,'' said Tupper. ``That would have jumped
right out at me.''
        McCoy, a member of Maine's NCAA compliance committee, said she
planned to tell her story to the NCAA when a member of its
enforcement staff visits the university next month.
        McCoy's claims are similar to those leveled last month against
Ploszek by Linwood Carville, the university's former compliance
officer. Carville, who was fired last week, said Ploszek told him
shortly after the violations were discovered that the matter would
be handled ``in house'' and would not be reported to the NCAA.
        Maine has had a string of NCAA compliance problems during the
past several months. The latest involved graduate students who
competed on five teams without carrying sufficient academic credits
to be eligible.
        McCoy said she learned of the problem from Carville on Feb. 21.
Two days later, she said Ploszek told her he would handle the
violations ``in house.''
        ``I ask him, `What does that mean? Are you saying you're not
going to report it to the NCAA?' I asked him point blank, `Are you
going to report this to the NCAA?'
        ``He said, `No.' He did not feel it needed to be reported to the
NCAA,'' she said. Ploszek also said he would ``feign ignorance'' if
people found out about the problems, McCoy said.
        McCoy said she later told Ploszek she was going to write a
letter expressing her discomfort over the handling of the
violations. She said Ploszek told her to hand write the letter and
not let her secretary type it.
        Later that evening, she said, Ploszek called her to say he had
met with Hutchinson and they had decided they would report the
violations to the NCAA.
        Ploszek announced the violations, and his own one-week
suspension, the following day.
        Tupper issued his final report on March 15. Two days later,
Carville was fired and Ploszek was reinstated from investigatory
leave.