National Collegiate Athletic

COLLEGE PARK -- They will be forever linked, their names so closely attached and their styles so vastly different that it's difficult to separate one from the other.Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe.Fire and Ice.The consummate point guard and the quintessential shooter.Apart, they can stand alone on their statistics: Corchiani, the all-time assist leader in National Collegiate Athletic Association history; Monroe, the all-time scorer at North Carolina State.Together, they are perhaps the most productive backcourt to play together in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- perhaps one of the best to play Division I basketball.

Coppin State's basketball team has been selected for the National Invitation Tournament, making it two straight years that the Eagles have been in a postseason tournament. Coppin, a National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament team last season, will play at Southwest Missouri State on Thursday night (8:05) in Springfield, Mo., in the first round of the NIT. (Article, 5C)

Stan Albeck resigned yesterday as Bradley basketball coach after three consecutive losing seasons.Athletic director Ron Ferguson said Albeck was not fired, but that the school thought the decision was the right one.Albeck, 59, didn't attend the news conference but said in a statement that his decision was extremely difficult."

New Nebraska law limits NCAA aid rulesNebraska Gov. Ben Nelson signed a bill yesterday to prohibit athletic governing bodies from imposing rules limiting financial aid to student athletes on Nebraska colleges or universities.The Legislature voted, 32-10, last week to send the bill to Nelson, dismissing fears that the National Collegiate Athletic Association would impose sanctions against Nebraska schools.The bill removes caps on how much aid student athletes can receive from other grants if they accept athletic scholarships.

Ads for Maryland basketball say, "No lights, no camera, just action," a reference to the Terrapins' ban from live television appearances this season as part of National Collegiate Athletic Association sanctions. But the rest of the state's Division I basketball teams -- even if they aren't on probation -- are pretty much in the dark, too, when it comes to television coverage.Note: Coppin State's games are not broadcast on radio.

Frostburg State coach Dennis Riccio, whose Bobcats posted their second straight 9-1 regular season when they lost to Waynesburg State, 28-18, Saturday, said he is disappointed his team didn't get into the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III playoffs, but is happy to get the chance to compete for the Eastern College Athletic Association Division III-South championship.Frostburg will play Ramapo (9-1) in the ECAC title game at Bobcat Stadium at noon Saturday. This will be Frostburg's first postseason football appearance.

IN INTERCOLLEGIATE athletics, it has come to this: Can any school afford what is required to remain competitive?Athletics on American college and university campuses have grown through the years in the number of competitors participating and in the funding necessary to support them. Sports are probably worth the investment, provided each school sponsors a program that is compatible with its academic mission. Problems arise when a school's reach exceeds its grasp: when ambitions exceed what it costs to finance them.