THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996                 TAG: 9605110441
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

NCAA RULE ON AGENTS CLEAR AS MUD IN TRACK WORLD WHICH IS WHY NSU RUNNER MAY NOT FACE REPERCUSSIONS.

When Norfolk State's Tim Montgomery finished the college track season last year, he did what many promising collegians do: he ran in Europe.

To do so, Montgomery did what other college track athletes have done, also: he got help from an agent.

According to NCAA rules, an athlete is ineligible if he uses an agent to market his services. It doesn't matter if the agreement is only verbal. Neither does it matter if the agent isn't paid.

``The rule is clear,'' said Steve Mallonnee, director of legislative services for the NCAA.

What's also clear is many in track and field think the rule is too rigid, and should not apply to their sport. That's why it is widely ignored, and why Montgomery and Norfolk State may not face repercussions.

``Tim Montgomery hasn't done anything that a lot of other guys haven't done,'' said Bill Carson, track coach at East Carolina.

Montgomery, who attended Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, last season, used Vincente Modahl, an agent based in Manchester, England, to get into overseas meets.

Montgomery was listed as one of Modahl's clients in the 1995 directory of the International Association of Athlete's Representatives, a professional organization for track and field agents.

Despite the listing, Modahl said Montgomery is not one of his clients.

``He approached me on a couple of occasions, and I helped him,'' Modahl said.

``No contracts exist. I was simply helping him.''

Mallonnee said the fact that Montgomery is listed is not a violation in itself. Some agents list athletes who are not actually clients, he said.

``But it certainly raises some concerns,'' Mallonnee said. ``If an individual has been listed in a book of international representatives, the institution should probably investigate.''

The NCAA has notified USA Track and Field, the sport's governing body, that it is looking into the relationship between track agents and college track athletes.

USATF's response has been to start a new program, in which it acts as the agent for collegians overseas.

KEYWORDS: NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY MEN'S TRACK by CNB