Academic Requirements

The University of Maryland has received an oral commitment from Lovett Purnell, a fullback and linebacker from Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, Valley Forge coach Jim Burner said yesterday.Purnell, 6 feet 3, 200 pounds, rushed for 534 yards and five touchdowns on 83 carries last season and made 39 tackles as an outside linebacker. He made only two official college visits, choosing Maryland over West Virginia.Purnell is at least the ninth player to commit to Maryland before the Feb. 5 early-signing date.

A year ago, after college presidents pushed through several new, tougher proposals for governing athletic departments, an athletic director said he felt like "road kill on the road to reform." Last week, the presidents hit and ran again, raising academic entrance requirements for scholarship athletes and imposing progress-to-graduation requirements. The academic guidelines at the nation's colleges now are the strictest ever.On many campuses, when the new rules go into effect entrance requirements for athletes will be higher than for non-athletes.

The University of Maryland has received an oral commitment from Lovett Purnell, a fullback and linebacker from Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, Valley Forge coach Jim Burner said yesterday.Purnell, 6 feet 3, 200 pounds, rushed for 534 yards and five touchdowns on 83 carries last season and made 39 tackles as an outside linebacker. He made only two official college visits, choosing Maryland over West Virginia.Purnell is at least the ninth player to commit to Maryland before the Feb. 5 early-signing date.

Steve Thomas, an All-Metro forward at Walbrook High who is spending this school year at New Hampton (N.H.) Prep, says he will sign a basketball letter of intent with Towson State when the late-signing period begins Wednesday.Thomas, a four-year varsity player at Walbrook, was recruited by the Tigers as a senior, but did not meet the NCAA academic requirements for freshman eligibility. He has raised his Scholastic Aptitude Test score to 740 and will have four years of eligibility at Towson State.

The NCAA signing period for high school basketball players begins today, but there probably won't be much activity among area players.Kwame Evans, a guard from Southern-Baltimore who announced last week that he will attend George Washington, is the only area basketball player expected to sign today.Dunbar forward Donta Bright (Massachusetts) and guard Michael Lloyd (Arkansas) also have announced their college choices. However, both are in Atlanta preparing for the McDonald's All-America game, April 19 at Georgia Tech.

Anne Arundel Community College officials say unspecified penalties will be imposed this week on a physical education professor who was accused of the unauthorized distribution of student transcripts.Bruce Springer received a one-year suspension without pay in April following an internal investigation of transcripts for basketball players James Sharps and Butch Williams being sent anonymously to the National Junior College Athletic Association and others outside the college in February.Anne Arundel had to forfeit two wins after Sharps was deemed ineligible for not meeting the minimum academic requirements during the regular fall semester.

BaseballReds: Released P Steve Cooke.Twins: Announced IF Brent Gates and P Todd Ritchie opted for free agency after being designated for assignment.BasketballPistons: Named Gar Heard and Bob Ociepka assistant coaches.CollegesNortheast Conference: Named Robert Morris RB Archie Wannamaker (Mount St. Joseph) Offensive Player of the Week. Named UMBC F Erin Lesh (C. Milton Wright) Women's Soccer Player of the Week.Ohio State: Announced basketball G Doylan Robinson has not met academic requirements to be eligible this winter.

Carroll Community College recently inducted 67 students into Alpha Psi Psi, a chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honors society for two-year colleges. Eligible students must fulfill certain academic requirements, including a minimum 3.5 grade point average and completion of 24 credit hours. All new members will have the opportunity to be published in the National Dean's List. New Alpha Psi Psi members are: Jennifer L. Barger, Carrie A. Bell, Melissa A. Bohli, Melanie D. Bradfield, Karen E. Bradshaw, Kelly S. Brushwood, Nicole L. Carraher, Kristi A. Cascia, Carly M. Clayton, Muriel E. Cruickshank, Patricia M. Dasch, Matthew T. Davis, Carrie A. DePalma, Michael P. DiBlasi, Amanda A. Dotterer, Amy O. Eckstine, John Fenwick, Tyler Fogarty, Sarah J. Fuller, Jeffrey M. Gardner, Nicole A. Germroth, Christy E. Gore, Vernon E. Grier Jr. Also, Andrew D. Haines, Mark A. Hall, Jessica A. Haynie, Michael S. Heady, Renee E. Heatwole, Valerie A. Heck, Rebecca L. Herb, Kathleen F. Hopkins, Shannon L. Howell, Linda S. Hutson, Maria T. Kane, Kristy A. Kehs, Shanna M. Kibler, Wendy S. Kibler, Suzanne L. Kristensen (vice president of fellowship)

Senior guard Mike Thibeault, a walk-on who played sparingly during his career at the University of Maryland, has informed Terrapins coach Gary Williams that he will give up basketball to concentrate on finishing his academic requirements.Thibeault, an engineering major from Glen Burnie, is scheduled to graduate next spring. Williams said yesterday that Thibeault came to him after last season and told him he was contemplating quitting the team to spend more time on schoolwork."He knew he wouldn't be playing that much, so he wanted to go ahead and concentrate on getting his degree," Williams said yesterday from College Park.

"We're definitely headed in the right direction," University of Maryland College Park's William E. "Brit" Kirwan said at the end of the NCAA's annual convention in Nashville last week. That may have been an understatement. The 1990 convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association might be remembered as the point at which educators regained control of their campuses.A series of reforms proposed by the NCAA Presidents Commission was passed -- aimed at putting the "student" back in the phrase "student-athlete."