The Big Ten Conference is remaining mum on any possible action regarding officials.

Big Ten spokesperson Scott Chipman said yesterday that the Big Ten does not and will not comment on officiating. When asked whether the conference was conducting any review of officiating, Chipman said once again that the conference has no comment on the situation.

Chipman told the Daily Collegian last Wednesday that Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and director of officials Dave Parry would not be available to speak the rest of the week.

However, Delany was quoted in Associated Press columnist Jim Litke's column which appeared later in the week.

Litke wrote: "But amid a growing clamor from coaches and administrators to take a hard look at league officials, Delany warned there's a line even Paterno should not cross. 'And where I draw the line,' the commissioner said Thursday, 'is when somebody begins imputing bad intentions.' "

Delany was referring to comments Paterno made in his Tuesday press conference.

"There were some concerns about the assignment of the same crew this year that worked our Michigan game [last year]," Paterno said.

"There were some concerns about the fact that three of them live in Michigan. There were some concerns that some of them said to me that they had met with Dick Honig, who was the guy I had some problems with at the Iowa game, who lives in Ann Arbor. Those kinds of things are what they should be looking at. Not necessarily that anybody is incompetent. We are all human beings and have friends and impulses. I think that is what Penn State would like to see have done. Just re-examine how officials are assigned."

The conflict had been escalating since Penn State athletic director Tim Curley sent a message to the Big Ten office last Monday requesting a "a comprehensive review of Big Ten football officiating."

Delany responded by requesting a "detailed critique" of Penn State's concerns before the conference could offer any response.

Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson said Curley sent a longer letter to the Big Ten last Tuesday that outlined some of Penn State's concerns. Nelson was unsure what the reaction was to that letter and what the Big Ten's current plan of action is.

Paterno's actions have sparked heated debate around the country for several reasons.

During the 1980s, a man named Don Guman was a frequent wearer of black and white stripes on the Beaver Stadium grass. But he was also the father of Mike Guman, who played for the Lions in the early '80s and is the father of current Lion free safety Andy Guman.

During those years, Don Guman made several calls that were questioned by coaches of Penn State opponents and Paterno was roundly criticized for forgetting about those calls last week, especially in a New York Times article. The same article noted that the Lions are the least penalized team in the league so far this year, were the least-penalized team last year and were whistled for the second fewest calls in 2000.

Yet the debate over officiating burns bright in Nittany Nation, especially on internet message boards.

One such site, The Penn State Playbook (http://psuplaybook.org), now has something called a Penn State Penalty search.

The search allows a user to search for a penalty report based on one or several criteria including the opponent, location, game type (Big Ten or non-conference) and officials working the game.

The data includes all of Penn State's games since 1997, according to the site.

A search using Michigan in the opponent criteria slot yields a screen that lists the "search total of penalties." In six games since 1997, Penn State has been called for 37 penalties totaling 288 yards while Michigan has been penalized 252 yards for 33 penalties.

It also lists overall totals. In 64 games, the Lions have been penalized 338 times for 2,757 yards and Michigan 384 times for 3,334 yards.

More interestingly, though, the search then lists which officials were working for each game. If the official lives in the same state as the Lions' opponent, his name appears in red.

Mark Harrington, one of the founders of the site, said that as the debate heated on the message boards, he felt the fans needed more information and hard statistics.

"There was nothing like this for Penn State," he said. "Who would have needed it before? I'm not really sure what Penn State has gathered, but we thought this could be a tool for people to look at and maybe see some trends."

Currently, Harrington and his group of about 10 volunteers are working to establish a similar search for all Big Ten schools.

"Coach Paterno took a stand that wasn't easy to take," he said. "But I think the other coaches are coming out and saying something's wrong. We want to give people enough information that they can make some decisions on their own."