COLLEGE FOOTBALL Panel: Judge had no right to reinstate 5 players

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A state appeals court has ruled a county judge improperly reinstated five college football players after they had been suspended for a post-game fight.
A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said Friday that Indiana County Judge William Martin lacked jurisdiction to allow members of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania varsity football team to play in a November 2002 playoff game.
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference challenged Martin's authorization, and the appeals judges agreed, saying the conference is a state agency and transferring the matter to Commonwealth Court.
Only one of the five players, running back Justin L. Spence, is still on the team, said IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling.
"We don't know if it's going to have any consequences to the team record or to the team as a whole or [to] Mr. Spence," she said Friday. "Really, until we get the official word and get a chance to study it, then we can react a little bit better."
Steven Murray, the conference commissioner, did not return a phone call Friday.
Reason for suspension
After IUP beat Slippery Rock in overtime to clinch the Western Division conference title, several Indiana players rushed toward Slippery Rock's ceremonial rock, where they encountered a group of Slippery Rock ROTC cadets determined to prevent the opposing team from scaling it as they had three years earlier.
The conference suspended five IUP players and four from Slippery Rock for one game, reprimanded both head coaches and placed the teams on probation. Cheerleaders also were suspended for a game and prohibited from visiting the opposing campus for two games.
The parties have a month to tell Commonwealth Court whether time has rendered the case moot.