A former University of Minnesota men's basketball team academic counselor, who is suing the school for sexual harassment, alleges in an affidavit filed Jan. 6 that a basketball coach asked him in 1986 to do course work for a player, court documents obtained Thursday show.

Rick Marsden, reached Thursday night, identified the coach as Clem Haskins.

"It was him," Marsden said. "He asked me to write a paper for (the player) and I told him I absolutely would not. He swore at me; I swore at him and then I told my boss."

Haskins, reached at his hotel in Seattle, said: "I don't have a response."

Marsden's supervisor at the time, former academic counseling unit head Elayne Donahue, confirmed Thursday that Marsden told her 13 years ago about the exchange with Haskins. She said she does not remember what she did about Marsden's complaint.

How could Marsden remember the incident from so long ago?

"I remember it so well because it was the only time I was asked to cheat," Marsden said.

Marsden, who is gay, filed a suit against the university in November, contending that "homophobic attitudes of administrators at Minnesota deprived him of advancement," Marsden's lawyer, Judy Schermer, said then.

Marsden said doctors determined he was mentally unable to work in men's athletics after he suffered what he calls "a mental breakdown" in the fall. His request to be transferred to another department at the university was denied, and he has been on unpaid leave since Dec. 17.

"I know people are going to say that I came forward because of the (lawsuit)," Marsden said Thursday. "People can spin it any way they want. But it doesn't matter what they think my motivation might be, just as it doesn't matter why Jan (Gangelhoff) came forward. This is academic fraud, systematic academic fraud, and people need to know the truth."

The Pioneer Press reported Wednesday that Gangelhoff, a former office manager in the academic counseling unit, said she did more than 400 pieces of course work for at least 20 players over a five-year period. Four players confirmed she did the work for them, a possible violation of the school's conduct code and NCAA rules.

Sandra Gardebring, the school's vice president for institutional relations, said she is unfamiliar with the specifics of Marsden's allegations against Haskins. She said Marsden's claims could be looked into by the school's attorneys as part of its overall investigation into Gangelhoff's allegations.

"We will act on allegations that come in from anybody that have a bearing on academic misconduct," she said. "If Rick Marsden has information that has a bearing on this issue, we are interested and we will look at it."

When asked to recount the 1986 incident, Marsden provided the Pioneer Press with the written allegations against the university that he gave his attorney in January so she could prepare the affidavit as part of his lawsuit.

"My first meeting with Coach Clem Haskins when he arrived as head men's basketball coach at the University of Minnesota occurred at 6 p.m. in his office," Marsden wrote. "He had summoned me, as the academic counselor working with the men's basketball team, to his office to inform me of his expectations of me in working with the players on his team.

"The conversation was decidedly one-sided as Coach Haskins lectured me on his philosophy regarding academics and athletics. Finally, in speaking about a specifically academically-fragile member of his team, Coach Haskins told me that he expected me to do `whatever it takes to help (player's name) be successful academically.' I asked Coach Haskins to clarify what he meant. His reply was that `if that means doing a paper for him, then do the paper for him.' He swore at me; I swore back. I immediately went to the office of my supervisor, Dr. Elayne M. Donahue, and reported the incident."

Said Donahue: "I remember it."

Marsden, who joined the academic counseling unit in 1984, never worked with Haskins' players after the alleged conversation. Marsden worked with athletes in other sports and spent the past few years assigned to the men's hockey team. He also served as assistant director to Donahue from 1992-95.

"What (Haskins) was really doing in that meeting was to get the ground rules straight," Marsden said Thursday. "But I refused to do (the player's) work."

Staff writers Bob Sansevere in Seattle and Blake Morrison contributed to this report.