ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9601040060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
The NCAA said Wednesday it is convinced Texas officials had no idea a 30-year-old football player had changed his identity to extend his college eligibility.
David Berst, director of enforcement at the NCAA, said there were no plans to investigate how Ron Weaver managed to enroll at Texas as 23-year-old Joel Ron McKelvey and play a limited role as a backup cornerback for the Longhorns this season.
Weaver had exhausted his eligibility at Sacramento State. He used the Social Security number of a Salinas, Calif., man named Joel McKelvey to change his identity and enter a Los Angeles junior college as a freshman before transferring to Texas last year.
``All I know is what I am hearing from the institution,'' Berst said. ``But if indeed the institution had no knowledge and the young man was not a significant contributor to the program, I would not expect it to be an issue with us.''
DeLoss Dodds, Texas' athletic director, said Tuesday the school would hire a private investigator to look into the matter.
The school is considering suing Weaver for the cost of his scholarship. Federal authorities also want to question Weaver about possible wire and mail fraud and Social Security violations.
``We will pursue every trail, including possible criminal action, to help the appropriate authorities get to the bottom of this,'' Dodds said. ``We owe that to our faculty, students, coaches, athletes, alumni and fans.''
Weaver has declined to be interviewed since quietly leaving the Texas team while it was preparing for Sunday night's 28-10 Sugar Bowl loss to Virginia Tech.
In other college football:
PHILLIPS GETS ADVICE: Nebraska coach Tom Osborne has advised tailback Lawrence Phillips to declare himself available for the NFL draft.
Phillips was suspended from the Cornhuskers for six weeks after he pleaded no contest to a charge of beating a former girlfriend. He was reinstated and ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns Tuesday night in Nebraska's victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.
Osborne said the scrutiny of the junior running back was behind his decision to tell Phillips to enter this spring's professional draft.
``I'm pretty sure he'll go pro and I've told him to,'' Osborne said. ``The thing that bothers me is that there have been a lot of people on campus who have been anti-Lawrence Phillips. ... I think Lawrence is always going to be a little bit of a marked man.''
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