Officials in the University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics said the Knight Commission's report on abuses in intercollegiate athletics will add to the drive for reform.

"I do think it will help maintain momentum," football coach Joe Paterno said.

The report, released last week, recommended that university presidents take control of athletic departments to ensure academic and financial integrity. Former University President Bryce Jordan and University Trustee J. Lloyd Huck both sat on the commission, a 21-member group studying athletic reform.

"It will further stimulate the climate for athletic reform that has been evident at the two most recent NCAA Conventions, particularly the 1991 meeting at Nashville," Jim Tarman, the University's athletic director, said in a prepared statement.

"It is a move in the right direction," men's basketball coach Bruce Parkhill said.

Many universities, including Penn State, already have some or most of the recommendations in place, Paterno said. The report will pressure institutions that have not started athletic reforms, he said.

The University already participates in the NCAA's pilot accreditation program, Paterno said.

The program concentrates on seven basic areas: the institution's mission, administrative and academic issues, finance, conduct of student athletes and coaches, commitment to rules compliance, and the student-athlete experience.

University President Joab Thomas said an accreditation process would ensure that athletics maintain their role as a subordinate part of student-athletes' university education and not the focus.

Thomas announced the University's participation in the NCAA program at the University Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month.

"I felt that it was extremely valuable, not just for Penn State but for intercollegiate athletics, that Penn State be included in that study," Thomas said.

Women's basketball coach Rene Portland said the Knight report could be a tool for athletic reform. Any reforms must keep athletics as an important part of collegiate life, she said.

Portland favors presidential control over athletic departments, but she added that administrators must value the coaches' input.

Paterno and Portland testified before the commission, which addressed many abuses that need to be addressed, Paterno said. It focused on graduation rates, presidential control of athletic departments, admission rates and the academic life of student-athletes, he said.

"The reforms we deem essential start with respect for the dignity of the young men and women who compete and the conviction that they occupy a legitimate place as students on our campuses," according to the commission report. "If we can get that right, everything else will fall in to place."

Paterno said he agreed that the student -- not the athlete -- should be the primary concern for colleges and universities.

Although the report did address important concerns, Paterno said, some of the commission's recommendations were not specific enough. Intercollegiate athletics must establish specific admission and student-athlete grant standards, Paterno said.

Although it may not be a concern for the commission or the NCAA, Portland said intercollegiate athletics should provide more support for high school athletic departments. Many of the abuses found in intercollegiate athletics start in high schools and in recruiting done there, she said.

Parkhill said the commission's recommendations should not be viewed as a "cure-all" for intercollegiate athletics. The commission should have a positive influence on intercollegiate athletics, but Parkhill said he is taking "a wait-and-see attitude."