
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990                   TAG: 9004060897
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C6   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

OKLAHOMA REVERSES DECISION TO KILL WOMEN'S PROGRAM

The University of Oklahoma has reversed its decision and will retain women's intercollegiate basketball, a state legislator said today.

"They had already decided to do this before the lawyer from Washington came here," Sen. Gary Gardenhire, R-Norman, said.

Gardenhire said the decision would be announced later in the day at a news conference in Norman.

Arthur Bryant of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm, said Wednesday that last week's decision by Oklahoma officials to eliminate the women's program was in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law. He threatened a lawsuit if the university didn't reinstate the program.

"This decision is blatantly illegal," he said. "This is a slam-dunk case. It is a winner."

by CNB