O'Brien Settles Suit With B.C.

Former Boston College basketball coach Jim O'Brien and the school have settled a lawsuit in which he suggested racism may have been a factor in the rejection of two recruits.

In the agreement, announced today by Boston College, the school was allowed to determine the financial settlement. Details were not released.

The school said O'Brien, now head coach at Ohio State, denied the suit was intended to suggest Boston College was racist.

The suit contended that the school allowed admissions director John Mahoney "to conduct reviews of applicants with an apparent bias against African-Americans."

O'Brien offered full scholarships to recruits Elton Tyler and Jonathan DePina in September 1996, but Mahoney rejected both because of what he said were suspected academic shortcomings.