NCAA Clears Missouri

October 6, 1999 / 12:00 AM EDT / AP

The NCAA on Tuesday declared two Missouri basketball recruits eligible to play at the school after investigating whether it broke any rules over the players' mothers accompanying them on a campus visit.

Athletic director Mike Alden notified the NCAA last Friday that the university may have violated recruiting rules by allowing the mothers of Detroit basketball standouts Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding to join their sons on a chartered plane to Columbia, Mo.

But a news release from the university late Tuesday night said they had been reinstated, "conditioned upon additional remuneration, by the parents, to further account for a portion of the charter flight costs."

In the statement, the university said it would appeal the terms.

"The university is grateful for the resolution of this issue," it read. "MU continues to accept full responsibility for its actions, but will appeal the terms of the reinstatement based on the punitive impact to the prospects' families."

Alden didn't return phone calls from The Associated Press on Tuesday, and NCAA officials said they were prohibited by law from releasing the information to the public. The school must do that, an official said earlier Tuesday.

Alden said the mothers of both Paulding and Johnson paid the university between $200 and $300 each for their tickets prior to flying from Detroit to Columbia Regional Airport Sept. 17 and returning Sept. 19. Alden said the university believed the NCAA rules allow a prospect to be accompanied on a noncommercial flight if the extra party paid fair market value for the ticket.

Paulding and Johnson, both seniors, orally committed to Missouri last week, become new coach Quin Snyder's first recruits.

Paulding, a 6-foot-4 guard, averaged 25.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 blocked shots last season at Detroit Renaissance High.

Johnson, a 6-9 forward, averaged 16.4 points last season at Detroit Pershing High.