The University agreed to return between $100,000 and $200,000 to the National Invitation Tournament for using ineligible basketball players during the 1996 and 1998 postseason tournaments.

This is the first time the annual basketball tournament association has pursued teams for using ineligible players, Athletics Director Joel Maturi said after meeting with National Invitation Tournament officials in New York last week.

Maturi said the money will account for everything the University received for playing in the tournament. All teams in the tournament are paid.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association forced the University to erase its 1994-99 basketball records after compliance officers found Gophers used papers written by a former office manager in the men’s athletics department academic counseling unit.

– Branden Peterson; The Associated Press contributed to this report.