SEATTLE -- University of Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel -- who is under investigation for reportedly betting on college basketball games -- says he wants to stay at the school. Neuheisel says he had no idea he was doing anything to violate NCAA regulations against gambling when he went to what he called a neighborhood gathering and wagered on college basketball.

The coach met with his players today and told them to stay focused and get ready for next season. Freshman quarterback Isaiah Stanback says Neuheisel didn't say much, but encouraged the players to focus on next fall's season, which begins with a game at Ohio State.

School officials met Thursday to discuss the Neuheisel's future. No decision was immediately announced, and UW Athletic Department spokesman Jim Daves said Thursday evening the school had no comment.

Lee Huntsman, the university's interim president, was in meetings with athletics officials and did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The Seattle Times reported Thursday that Neuheisel participated in informal NCAA basketball pools the past two years. Two NCAA investigators and one from the Pac-10 Conference questioned him Wednesday after receiving a tip that he put up $5,000 and won about $20,000 by picking Maryland in 2002, the newspaper reported.

NCAA spokesman Jeff Howard told the AP on Thursday that he could not comment about or confirm the investigation. The NCAA manual specifies that coaches, staff members and athletes may not knowingly "solicit or accept a bet on any intercollegiate competition for any item (e.g., cash, shirt, dinner) that has tangible value.''

Emerging from a meeting with the investigators, Neuheisel acknowledged to The Times that his college coaching career could be on the line.

"I never in my wildest dreams imagined I was doing anything to jeopardize my employment,'' he said. "I don't think I would ever put myself in that situation knowingly, but I'm hopeful I can be the coach at Washington. I'd certainly like to be.''

Huskies athletic director Barbara Hedges told the newspaper she learned of Neuheisel's involvement in the betting pool late Wednesday and promised "a careful review of all the facts.''

"Gambling is a serious violation of NCAA rules,'' Hedges said. "You can't minimize this. The university will take this very seriously.''

Neuheisel met with his team Thursday evening in a previously scheduled meeting but slipped away afterward without talking to reporters.

"He was just saying 'stay focused and get ready for the season','' freshman quarterback Isaiah Stanback told an AP reporter. "That's pretty much all he said.''

Several players entering and leaving the meeting declared their support for the coach.

Neuheisel said earlier he was part of a four-member "team'' that had the overall winner in both years he participated in what he described as a pizza-and-beer gathering. Neuheisel said his group split its winnings but he would not discuss dollar amounts.

Under the auction format, participants bid on each team. The highest bid gets that team in the tournament.

"I was there (at the auction) really because most of these people were buddies of mine from my neighborhood,'' Neuheisel said. "Their kids went to the same school as my kids and I was an invitee. ...

"Obviously, it's become a point of contention, but I never imagined that I was doing anything wrong, because we weren't dealing with bookies or lines or anything like that.

"We were just friends, like we were betting on golf holes. It seemed pretty harmless.''

One of the participants in the 2002 pool was Seattle SuperSonics great Jack Sikma, who told The Times: "I don't think any of us thought it was inappropriate. We were just having fun.

"I'm totally stunned. I hate to see Rick hurt by something like this.''

Neuheisel, 42, has a 33-15 record in four seasons with the Huskies. Under a six-year contract extension he signed in September, he makes $1.2 million a year, and a five-year option could keep him at Washington until 2013.

The kind of pool Neuheisel described is not against state law unless a bookmaker is involved, but NCAA rules forbid any form of gambling on college sports by athletes and coaching staff.

Institutions can be sanctioned in such cases if violations were known to college officials or if the NCAA finds they should have known.

"There are a lot of questions and we don't have a lot of answers,'' Hedges said.

"In hindsight, Rick realizes he should have known,'' she said. "It's clear that gambling is prohibited on any kind of college sports regardless of what the circumstances are. I do believe Rick should have understood the situation. He just didn't relate it to the particular social situation he was in.

"Rick was forthcoming. That is to his credit.''

NCAA measures to combat gambling by coaches, players and staff include preseason talks by consortium officials to athletes, locker room posters and efforts to deny credentials to cover major NCAA events to newspapers that publish gambling point spreads.

Many college athletic departments ban even ordinary, small-change tournament brackets that are commonly filled out in offices nationwide during so-called "March Madness.''

"If an athlete or coach put $1 in a pool, certainly there would not be a significant penalty,'' said Bill Saum, the NCAA's director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities. "If there is a significant amount of money in the pool, there would be a significant penalty.''

The Times reported that the NCAA investigators also questioned Neuheisel about two potential minor violations.

Neuheisel's most recent indiscretion was in February, when he issued a statement through the university denying he had been interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers head-coaching vacancy -- then admitted he had in fact been interviewed.

Thursday is the deadline for the Huskies to report to the NCAA that Neuheisel has fulfilled all compliance requirements concerning 50 minor violations that were committed while he was coach at Colorado from 1995-98.

As the last requirement on the list, Neuheisel attended a regular NCAA compliance seminar Wednesday with athletic department officials from many schools.