Junior tailback Amp Lee, Florida State's leading rusher, is academically ineligible to play in the Mobil Cotton Bowl, coach Bobby Bowden said yesterday.
Lee, who rushed for 977 yards and caught 26 passes for 336 yards this season, failed to meet Florida Board of Regents academic standards, Bowden said. He did meet NCAA standards, which are less stringent.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles (10-2) play No. 9 Texas A&M; (10-1) in the bowl.
"This in no way should be construed as my making a decision to leave school and turn professional," said Lee.
* Athletic directors of the Big East Conference heard details about an offer from the Blockbuster Bowl and an alliance of bowls that could lead to a national football championship game.
They chose neither.
The ADs took the proposals back to their schools after a meeting in Newark, N.J., said Big East spokesman John Paquette.
Paquette said Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese outlined the offer from the 2-year-old Blockbuster Bowl. The Miami-based bowl offered more than $4 million per team if the Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences sign long-term commitments.
The two conferences, along with the Big Eight, Southeastern and Southwest conferences and Notre Dame, have also been discussing an alliance with the Orange, Cotton, Sugar and Fiesta bowls to develop a system that could produce a national championship football game.