Villanova University

Dave Hartman, the 1991 state champion in the 3,200 meters for Canyon High, has withdrawn from Villanova University and will run cross-country for Texas San Antonio in the fall. Hartman, 21, said a lack of progress in track was his primary reason for transferring. "I haven't been real pleased with the way things have been going in track during the last couple of years," Hartman said. "I had some pretty good cross-country seasons (at Villanova), but I never ran like I felt I should have in track.

Steve Lappas, the coach at Manhattan the last four seasons, was hired Tuesday to succeed Rollie Massimino as basketball coach at Villanova. Lappas, 37, was at Villanova as an assistant from 1984 to 1988 and was a member of Massimino's staff when the Wildcats upset Georgetown for the NCAA championship in 1985. Massimino left Villanova two weeks ago to replace Jerry Tarkanian at Nevada Las Vegas.

Lloyd Mumford, a former backup guard at Villanova, says he is transferring to UC Irvine to join the basketball program. Mumford, a 6-foot point guard, played in 24 games for Villanova last season, averaging 3.2 points and totaling 33 assists. He will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out next season as required by NCAA regulations. Mumford was a redshirt freshman last season, after missing the previous season with a broken leg.

Arkansas won its fourth men's NCAA cross-country championship in seven years Monday, and Villanova's women won their second in a row in a meet at Knoxville, Tenn. Arkansas placed two runners in the top 10 and finished with 68 points, beating defending champion Iowa State by 28 points. Iowa State's Jonah Koech was the men's champion, covering the 10,000-meter course in 29 minutes 5 seconds.

For stereotyped teams and coaches, you probably couldn't find a more contrasting matchup than Villanova and Oklahoma in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball tournament's Southeast Regional final today (Channel 2, 12:30 p.m., PST). Villanova, with a 24-12 record, is once again catching the fancy of the country, much as it did in 1985 when it went unheralded into the tournament and won the championship.

It wouldn't quite be Chaminade beating Virginia. It would be like David beating Goliath, only Goliath has a stress fracture in his left heel and has been in NCAA trouble over improper use of a telephone access code. Villanova, a one-time NCAA champion, is playing the University of Redlands on Saturday morning in the Bulldogs' 930-seat Currier Gym. Throw in a madcap schedule -- Villanova will open its season against Temple in Philadelphia at 12:01 a.m. Friday, play Redlands at 10 a.m.

Rollie Massimino, fresh from another Nevada Las Vegas booster luncheon, another session of glorified show-and-tell, walks into his half barren office and heads directly to his desk. From nowhere a plastic tub of spaghetti and meatballs appears, as well as a loaf of garlic bread big enough to serve as a fraternity paddle. Massimino is smiling now. Italian food . . . Italian anything does that to him. "Look at this," he says, the sweet smell of marinara sauce filling the air.

Mark Plansky, the only holdover from Villanova's championship team in 1985, and Pat Enright, a walk-on who had been cut twice , provided an improbable ending in a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Southeast Regional second-round game Sunday at Riverfront Coliseum. Villanova, on the verge of being blown away several times by Illinois, a more athletic team but not necessarily a more skilled one, beat the Illini, 66-63, in the closing seconds.