Facebook and Recruits
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1037695
I am not sure how to embed text, but there is a funny quote from Sharif Floyd on one of his Facebook messages:
"I just go accept, accept, accept," Floyd said. "I don't talk to any of them. I get crazy e-mails like, 'Go here dude, you're a beast.' 'Dude, do you want to shock the world? You should go to Michigan.'
January 9th, 2010 at 12:17 PM ^
Lol, that has to be someone from this board. Thats funny.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^
There is no doubt in my mind.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^
All this FB stuff is out of hand.
(YES, I am shaking my cane at those damn kids.)
January 9th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
Not to be a wet blanket, but more for the sake of everyone's knowledge, the compliance office considers it against NCAA rules to contact recruits, thus you could get yourself and/or the university in trouble by adding these kids as friends on Facebook and sending them e-mails and posting messages on their wall and stuff. Straight from their Booster Technology Resource guide:
"While not every facet of the “new media landscape” has been addressed by NCAA rules, there are a few things that we are certain about. One is that as a general concept, it is not permissible for an institution’s fans to attempt to influence a prospect’s selection of a college. The NCAA has stated that this guideline would prohibit fans from establishing websites, Facebook groups and the like for the purpose of attempting to sway a prospect’s decision. Also, boosters must keep in mind that the NCAA prohibits them from contacting prospects in writing regardless of the format of the communication. Therefore, messaging through MySpace, posting to a prospect’s Facebook wall, or direct messaging with a prospect through Twitter are all impermissible inasmuch as all such activities are still written exchanges directly with a prospect. Extending this further, boosters should not attempt to establish “friend” status with prospects on Facebook since an exchange of e-mails is required for such a transaction. However, it would be permissible for a fan or booster to passively follow a prospect’s Twitter updates that are available to the general public."
I see these sort of topics pop up on boards all the time as it is getting out of control. Again, not to be a wet blanket, just an important FYI before someone on here goes Facebook stalking and tells a recruit to "fuck. shit. up." again.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^
I will never understand how I am responsible to the rules of the NCAA as a fan. As neither a player nor a coach nor anyone affiliated with the NCAA in any way whatsoever I do not understand why I have to follow NCAA rules. Now I can understand a regulation which prohibits coaches from using facebook and other "new media" to backdoor recruit, but how is the NCAA possibly going to hold "my" school responsible for something I did? Should RR stay up tonight worried that the NCAA is going to discover those messages I just recruited all my friends to send to Dillon Baxter? Because up until just now I had NO IDEA that I couldn't send someone a friendly anonymous letter encouraging him to make a sound decision for his future.
Internets: now regulated by the NCAA.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
If that is a word...The NCAA can't prove that you're not RR or an assistant or booster or whatever, so I bans it across the board. I don't know, just speculation. It seems like a way they might handle it.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:14 PM ^
The NCAA views this as a recruiting issue. Fans are trying to influence the decision of recruits to go to their school, which is illegal under NCAA rules. I'm pretty certain this has always been a rule before the internet and social networking sites came were popularized, so just because Facebook makes it possible so you can contact recruits doesn't make it right. Ultimately it's the fan contacting the recruit to become their friend and start sending them messages and posting on their wall, thus you are the one contacting them and trying to sway them. No different if there was no internet and you started sending them letters in the mail.
As for penalties according to the U-M compliance office...
"Penalties and NCAA actions are case by case. Much depends on the level of awareness the institution has regarding the actions of the fan/booster and that individual's proximity to the program. With the first violation, the institution would be expected to take actions that result in a reasonable expectation that there will not be repeated issues. So, if there were subsequent issues, particularly ones involving the same individual, there is a chance that the involved individual would be disassociated from the institution. Then it would have to be determined whether the booster's actions resulted in a recruiting advantage and appropriate restrictions would be placed on the program based on that analysis."
Obviously there's so many fans on Facebook befriending who knows how many recruits that it's difficult for any university to track everything. But, this isn't anything new, either. Someone mentioned the Pryor group on Facebook started by Michigan fans that got yanked. Last year a N.C. State student got in trouble for starting up a "John Wall PLEASE come to NC STATE!!!!" group and had it yanked. That student got a cease and desist order from the university compliance office and said further action could result in him being denied tickets and being formally disassociated from the athletic program if he failed to comply.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:36 PM ^
So I guess I wonder what would happen if that fan was officially dis-associated from the program? He can't go to games, etc. But he can still use the internet to contact players and there is really nothing that the institution nor the NCAA can do about it, besides tell the recruits to ignore that guy. I get that the purpose of the rule is to discourage fans but I don't see what the athletics department is expected to do beyond politely (or not-so-politely) asking its fans to shut up. If I'm not offering money or something else that could get the recruit into trouble for accepting, what am I doing besides advocating for my favorite team?
It seems like the NCAA is doing all that it really can do to try and keep fans out of the recruitment process -- threatening sanctions against the institution which in some cases may have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of the actions of its fans, and therefore could not have possibly prevented the sanctions. Obviously in real life this is probably treated on a case-by-case basis with an eye towards what the institution did or didn't know. Because the NCAA can't revoke anything from the fans besides tickets, they have to go after the institution, regardless of whether the institution had any idea. The "had no idea" part is obviously where it gets tricky, hence the unjust policy?
If I love my team so much that I am willing to risk sanctions by secretly contacting a recruit and advocating for my team, what is UM (or any other NCAA school) supposed to do about it to prevent said sanctions?
January 11th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^
On this note, I wonder how long it is before, say, Alabama fans start "Come to Auburn" Facebook groups in an effort to get Auburn penalized.
January 12th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^
or Nick Saban, or whatever...
Because of *that* guy the NCAA will have us in the principal's office...
Also, as an aside, am I the only one who thinks facebooking 18 year olds you've never met is a bit odd.
January 12th, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^
it's called Kemotherapy. I personally, me myself in my own personal opinion, miss him dearly. Hope he comes back strong after signing day, so we can really get down to brass tacks (whatever the hell that means).
January 9th, 2010 at 12:56 PM ^
Yet it is wrong and stupid for fans to do this. But honestly this happens at every school and with every fan-base. To pretend that it doesn't is ridiculous.
The next ridiculous thing will be that you can't chant recruits names when they are on official visits. Or that you can't look at them.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:33 PM ^
Of two little kids in the backseat of a car yelling at each other while parent is driving:
Child 1: "You're sitting too close to me"
Child 2: "Don't look out my window!"
Child 1: "Don't breath my air!"
It's all just too much.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:58 PM ^
So if I was a freshman at a D-1 school, and my best friend in high school was about to graduate and was a high level D-1 prospect, my telling him he should go to school with me is a violation of NCAA rules if I write it on his wall?
Wow... Horseshit.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:37 PM ^
No
Commits (or potential commits)
Are
Approachable (in any way, shape, or form)
January 9th, 2010 at 12:34 PM ^
Leave the players alone you will not swing thier recruitment on facebook, let the coach do his job you are giving all U of M fans a bad name for stauking recruits on facebook. Get a life.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:41 PM ^
I remember when Pryor was visiting AA, Greenwood was hosting their beginning of the semester block party (Jan) and they created a facebook event stating they wanted to show Pryor a good time, etc, etc. UM and the NCAA caught wind of it and forced them to take it down. Sometimes I wish facebook would just go away.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:03 PM ^
I had those exact thoughts when my grandma added me as a friend last year............
January 11th, 2010 at 11:11 PM ^
i had those exact thoughts when my grandma's boyfriend added me as a friend last year............
January 12th, 2010 at 12:35 AM ^
Don't ask me why I remember this, but I can't remember my work phone number without checking my business card...
You were going to "full on bitch slap" that guy to get us into the Alamo Bowl.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^
Which is why I've never joined facebook or even gone to the website. I'm guessing that's pretty rare for a guy in his mid-20s.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:50 PM ^
I guess I can just pretend to be a fan of OSU and get them in trouble then.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^
I don't give no shit bout facebook or recruits. Come signing day I'll be rootin for all the fellas M signs.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:16 PM ^
If I can't be Facebooking a recruit, I can't be Facebooking a recruit. It is as simple as that. It ain't about that at all. It's easy to sum it up if you're just talking about Facebooking a recruit. We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the best fan I can be, and we're talking about Facebooking a recruit. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about Facebooking a recruit, not a snarky message board post, not a snarky message board post, not a snarky message board post, but we're talking about Facebooking a recruit. Not the snarky message board post that I go out there and die for and post every snarky message board post like it's my last but we're talking about Facebooking a recruit man. How silly is that?
Now I know that I'm supposed to lead by example and all that but I'm not shoving that aside like it don't mean anything. I know it's important, I honestly do but we're talking about Facebooking a recruit. We're talking about Facebooking a recruit man. (laughter from the media crowd) We're talking about Facebooking a recruit. We're talking about Facebooking a recruit. We're not talking about the snarky message board post. We're talking about Facebooking a recruit. When you come to the internet, and you see me post, you've seen me post right, you've seen me give everything I've got, but we're talking about Facebooking a recruit right now.