I am glad to hear that the administration at Maine is launching an investigation into the situtaion with the NC$$ and Jeff Tory. As Mike Machnik pointed out, it is to the administration's credit to take a serious stance on issues such as this. However, I must say that given the trouble Maine has had with their athletic program and the NC$$, I have to wonder if it has ever occurred to folks in the athletic department that the NC$$ seems to be keeping a very close eye on Maine athletics. At this point, and given the problems this season with Cal Ingraham and now with Jeff Tory, I can't help but think some of this could have been avoided. I don't think the NC$$ has randomly singled Maine out; in fact, I believe it was mentioned here on the list that another Hockey East school played an active role in reporting the situation to the NC$$. However, over the course of the past several years, there have been several NC$$ investigations into the athletic program. Some of the situations that come to mind are the problems involving use of steriods on the football team (1991), the baseball players' gambling ring (1991) the questions involving SAT scores of football players (which I believe was in 1989 or '90) and now, the eligibility issues surrounding Ingraham and Tory. I feel that given the problems with some of the other athletic teams at Maine (e.g. football and baseball) the administration should have made sure that the hockey team was absolutely clean. I am not trying to slight Coach Walsh or the Maine hockey program. Rather, I just feel it was the University's responsibility to make sure that there are no misunderstandings surrounding any aspect of athletics and academics at Maine. Sure, mistakes are made. That's human nature. Also, Fred Hutchinson has served as president at Maine for only about two years. Some of these violations occurred before his appointment, or while the University was in the midst of the search process for a new president. Also, the current athletic director at Maine, Michael Plosczek (sp?) was recently appointed (1991). The point I feel needs to be made here is that the University could have exercised more responsibility toward the administration of its athletic programs. The NC$$ does not seem to take kindly to repeat offenders, no matter what the circumstances. It is unfortunate now that the latest episode involves a sport as visible and as respected as the hockey team. Again, I do not slight Coach Walsh or the hockey team. Rather, I feel the administration should have expected the NC$$ to watch Maine athletics closely, and that they should have taken the proper steps to insure that misunderstandings with regard to grades, transcripts, and eligibility were resolved in due time. --Sid Whitaker Boston University '95 WBZ News Radio 1030 / WBZ-TV 4 Boston