BRIEFLY : NOTRE DAME WON'T JOIN THE BIG TEN.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Notre Dame will still stand alone in football, as it has for more than a century.

The university rejected an invitation to join the Big Ten on Friday, intent on preserving its unique national identity and fearing the move would hurt football recruiting. Nine university trustees unanimously followed the recommendation of university president Edward Malloy.

Notre Dame has been part of the Big East in all sports but football and hockey since 1993. Football coach Bob Davie said this decision was bigger than football.

``It involved a reinforcement of the heritage and culture of the institution - not only looking back into the past, but also projecting where Notre Dame expects to be in the future,'' he said.

The school's alumni association reported 99.5 percent of its members opposed changing Notre Dame's status. It was also opposed by students, alumni and the athletic department, but had some support in academic circles because it would have allowed Notre Dame to be a member of the Committee on Intercollegiate Cooperation consortium and would help build the university's graduate and research programs.

The Big Ten initiated discussions with Notre Dame last summer about joining, but commissioner Jim Delany said they aren't in a hurry to find a 12th member.

Former Northwestern running back Dennis Lundy admitted he intentionally fumbled near the goal line in a 1994 game to protect a bet he made against his team.

Lundy also acknowledged he lied to a federal grand jury investigating gambling at Northwestern when he denied he had bet on games.

Lundy pleaded guilty to one count of perjury in a U.S. District Court.

He admitted fumbling on purpose during the 1994 game against Iowa so his team would not cover the point spread and he would win a $400 bet. He also said he bet on Northwestern games against Ohio State and Notre Dame.

A teammate had accused Lundy of intentionally fumbling against Iowa to protect a bet. An assistant coach overheard the accusation and the school launched an investigation, which was quickly turned over to federal authorities and led to the indictments of Lundy and three other former players.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Lundy would be sentenced to six months to a year in prison.

Florida and Miami finalized an agreement to play a home-and-home series beginning in 2002. The teams were afforded the chance to add the meeting when the NCAA approved a 12th regular-season game in its meetings last month.

BASEBALL: Officials of Major League Baseball and its union shattered the perception that they do not want to ban the dietary supplement Mark McGwire acknowledged using last season because the act would tarnish McGwire's home run record and detract from the smashing success of the 1998 season.

Androstenedione, the supplement, is the subject of a study by two Harvard doctors that is being funded by baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. One of the researchers, Dr. Benjamin Leder, told The New York Times he did not expect results to be ready for publication until after the start of the coming season.

Major League Baseball has come under attack in the past week from officials of the International Olympic Committee over its failure to ban andro. McGwire especially has been singled out, with an IOC vice president calling him ``a national hero all souped up.''

The New York Mets avoided arbitration with infielder Edgardo Alfonzo, agreeing to give him a four-year, $18.4 million contract.

Alfonzo, 25, is being moved from third base to second this year to make way for Robin Ventura, the Mets' big free-agent acquisition. Alfonzo hit .278 last season and set career highs with 17 homers and 78 RBI.

WINTER SPORTS: Sweden's Pernilla Wiberg captured the women's combined title with a blistering second run of the slalom in the World Alpine Ski Championships in Vail, Colo.