The NCAA found the University's housing policy for football players in Nittany Apartments to be in compliance with its regulations, without considering the quality of the apartments, a legislative services director said Friday.

Daniel T. Dutcher said a legislative services staff meeting was held Friday morning to discuss whether Penn State violated NCAA policy by allowing sophomore football players to live in the apartments, for which only upperclassmen are eligible, and by allowing all football players to bypass the lottery for assignment that applies to other students.

After reviewing the case, Dutcher said, "It did not appear a violation existed because Penn State will dedicate housing to other special interest groups."

The University dedicates special housing to sororities, interest houses, University scholars and other athletes in dorm rooms.

Dutcher said the NCAA applied bylaw 16.5.2.1 to the case. The bylaw states that "The institution may not provide an on-campus or off-campus housing benefit (e.g., individual television sets or stereo equipment, a recreation room or a centralized television room, room furnishings or appointments of extra quality or quantity) for student-athletes that is not available on the same basis to the general student body. The material benefits in question are permissible only if provided in approximately the same ratio to at least one half of all other students utilizing on-campus housing facilites. Otherwise, dormitories with exclusive material housing benefits may not be utilized by student-athletes."

Dutcher added, "I don't have any way to know the quality of housing is not comparable."

He said the issue of quality of housing was not discussed at the staff meeting.

"Based on the information available right now, we've concluded that a violation does not exist," Dutcher said Friday.

In a telephone interview Sunday he added, "I don't know where that's going to go from here. We don't have any additional information."

The Daily Collegian provided a copy of the Terms, Conditions and Regulations of the Housing and Food Service Contract for Nittany Apartments and Residence Halls to Dutcher last night.

The furnished two-bedroom, four-person apartments in which the sophomore football players reside contain a direct entrance to the outside, a kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, oven, cupboards, sink and table. They also include a private bathroom with a shower and toilet; double sinks; a living room with a couch, table, and two chairs; bedrooms each containing two beds, two desks, two dressers and two chairs; two phone lines and three cable TV hookups. Special parking permits can be obtained to park in one of the several lots around the community, or Nittany Apartments residents can park in any of the standard student lots.

The standard double dorm rooms contain two beds, two dressers, two chairs, one phone line and standard student parking privileges. Some dorms have a cable TV hookup, and all residents share central bathrooms. Sororities, interest houses, University scholars, other athletes and other sophomores who don't play football reside in the standard dorm rooms.

Although there are apparent differences in amenities offered, Director of Housing Fred Fotis said the differences are distinct.

"They're two different types of buildings. They're not comparable to each other," Fotis said.

NCAA Investigator Ed Lupomech told the Associated Press Thursday, "You have sophomores in there where other sophomores are not eligible."

NCAA Spokeswoman Kathryn Reich said that generally, student-athletes are not allowed to have privileges unavailable to other students.

But Dutcher said bylaw 16.02.3, regarding extra benefits, is a "general rule (which states) you can't get a benefit that's not available to other students unless NCAA legislature says otherwise."

According to University policy, sophomore students are not eligible to live in Nittany Apartments. There are 10 sophomore football players currently residing there.