College Notes: Atlantic 10 merges with Yankee Conf.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

The Atlantic 10 gains stature by adding football. The Yankee Conference gains a vote in future NCAA deliberations.

That's why officials from both conferences said the ann ouncement that the Yankee Conference would be taken over by the Atlantic 10 a win-win situation.

The new league, which will remain in Division I-AA, will be known as the Atlantic 10 Football Conference, commissioner Linda Bruno said Wednesday.

The merger came about because of the NCAA's recent restructuring, in which member schools will no longer be represented individually, but through conference affiliations.

The Atlantic 10, whose 12 members compete in 21 sports but who are best-known for basketball, was seeking a major-sport identity in the fall.

"It adds a lot of prestige," Bruno said. "As good as you are in the other fall sports ... football is the fall sport."

Because its only sport was football, the Yankee Conference would not have been allowed to participate in NCAA deliberations under the new restructuring.

So, conference executive director Chuck Boone, also the athletic director at the University of Richmond, said the conference sought out a partner.

"We discussed the possibility (of a merger) with two other conferences," Boone said. "They made presentations. But the decision came back to the Atlantic 10 because of the success of the Atlantic 10 and the leadership of Linda."

Boone refused to identify the other conferences.

All of the affiliated schools have committed to the new conference, which will begin play next year, through the year 2000, Bruno said.

The only way they could leave would be if they were to step up or down a level in competition. The conference as a whole has no plans to step up to Division I-A, Bruno said.

One of the new members, Connecticut, has announced plans to move up to the I-A Big East Conference by 1999. Bruno said the A-10 has not discussed that move with UConn.

The merger means the end of the Yankee Conference, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

Bruno said the new conference isn't sure if it will retain the current setup of the Yankee Conference, which is divided into a New England Division and a Mid-Atlantic Division.

Besides Connecticut, members of the new Atlantic 10 Football Conference are Boston University, Delaware, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Richmond, Villanova and William & Mary.

Other than Rhode Island and Massachusetts -- the only schools that are already full-fledged members in the Atlantic 10 -- none of the football schools will participate in any of the conference's other sports.

The members of the non-football Atlantic 10 are Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, St. Bonaventure, St. Joseph's, Temple, Virginia Tech and Xavier.

* BC'S SPEIGHT QUITS: Boston College cornerback Kiernan Speight is still waiting for his apology. Accused but exonerated in the gambling scandal that led to the suspension of 13 teammates, Speight said Wednesday he will not return to the team. "It's a tough decision for me because, obviously, this is a place where I wanted to be," he said in the office of attorney John McBride. "I've done a lot of things here and met a lot of people, but as far as I'm concerned I just want to put this whole situation behind me." Speight said he will finish his course work for the semester and then begin looking around at places to transfer. "Pride is a big thing," he said. "My name is more important to me right now. I can get an education in another school that's probably just as good."

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