NCAA To Fight SAT Ruling

The NCAA will fight a ruling that struck down test-score requirements for freshmen athletes as unfair to blacks, saying the judge's decision could create chaos at its member colleges.

In the latest twist in one of the most enduring controversies in college sports, the NCAA today will seek to block the ruling while it prepares an appeal, Elsa Cole, NCAA general counsel, said yesterday. She expects a response on a request for a stay of the order "within a day or two."

U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter in Philadelphia ruled Monday that the NCAA may not use a minimum test score to eliminate freshmen from being eligible for athletics. He cited the NCAA's own research showing that the practice harmed black students' chances of being declared academically eligible.

The policy, known as Proposition 16, required the athletes to have a minimum score of 820 on the Scholastic Assessment Test regardless of their high school grades. The ruling did not rule out some use of the tests, which many educators have long said are racially and culturally discriminatory.

"We are encouraged by the court's acknowledgment that the initial eligibility standards...serve a legitimate educational goal," said Charles Wethington, president at Kentucky and head of the NCAA's executive committee.