Gophers' players repay school for calls, get reinstated to team

ST. PAUL (AP) -- The University of Minnesota football players who improperly used an athletic department long-distance access code have repaid the school for the phone calls and are back on the team, officials said Thursday.

"I'm moving on, that's yesterday's news," Coach Glen Mason said after practice. "I've already wrapped the fish on that one."

He said 12 of the 13 players involved in the access code abuse will travel Friday to Miami, where they'll play North Carolina State in the Micronpc.com Bowl on Dec. 28.

Mason said one of the 13 had been "eliminated" from going to the bowl for other reasons. He said he would not identify the player or explain why he wasn't going to the game.

"I can't release that information as of yet because I haven't notified the people I need to," Mason said.

The 13 players were suspended Wednesday after a preliminary investigation into the improper charges found that between Aug. 29 and Nov. 29, the players and five other students made more than 1,500 improper calls costing more than $1,600. The players were suspended until they repaid about $420 in charges.

The players admitted using the code but denied knowing it was only for university-authorized use. Three of the players charged more than $100 each while one charged about $1.30.

University officials were still investigating in hopes of determining who first obtained the code.