Semi-OT: What is allowed in recruiting these days? (Damon Webb warning)
These days, it's hard to know what is and is not allowed in the world of recruiting. We've laughed at the tweets to recruits from the likes of Joker Phillips, et. al., but I hadn't seen something like this yet. I saw an article on Maize 'n' Brew on recruiting. I was shocked to see a retweeted photo of Damon Webb pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, content created by the recruiting department at Ohio State.
I guess I don't get how this is allowed - using a NAME BRAND (Sports Illustrated) in recruiting materials - yet game-day simulations (e.g. announcing recruit's name over P.A. in stadium) is not. Would SI have to give some sort of permission for them to use their name? Just doesn't seem right to me - but I don't know all the rules of recruiting.
Although this is a cool idea - still sucks to lose out on Webb.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:13 AM ^
I fear that to compete for elite recruits in the future, schools will need to resort to shady tactics or be left in the dust...as for this, just gross
December 6th, 2013 at 1:02 PM ^
if you dont cheat in college football, there is no way in hell u will ever win national title. it was amazing seeing auburn go from winless in the sec to winning it and a chance to compete for atitle in one year. here we r in year three, and r still saying next year
December 7th, 2013 at 6:43 AM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 11:17 AM ^
They used the "Sports Illussrated" logo. Totally fine.
/s
December 6th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
That would be "Sparts Illustrated". Cleo McDowell started it with the fast food money he was making in the 80's.
December 6th, 2013 at 1:36 PM ^
And that's when the big bucks start to roll in.
December 6th, 2013 at 1:46 PM ^
Just stick to the lettuce, son. :-)
December 6th, 2013 at 11:17 AM ^
Meh. As far as violations go, this is an not serious as it gets.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^
but teams have gotten secondary violations just for announcing a kid's name on the field or on court (think it was Tennessee under Pearl?).
I know the NCAA sucks, and the degree of this is minor...it's just the seemingly random rules and ENFORCEMENT of said rules that drives me nuts.
December 6th, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^
NCAA compliance has and probably always will suck.
December 6th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
I just e-mailed the picture to our head of Compliance. Here is his e-mail back...
"As per an NCAA interpretation (see below) this would be considered an altered photograph and would be impermissible to send to a recruit.
Photographs as Attachments to General Correspondence and Electronic Transmissions (I)
Date Published: August 30, 2012
Item Ref: f
Interpretation:
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that an institution may send a photograph to a prospective student-athlete as an attachment to general correspondence (printed on plain white paper with black ink) or electronic transmissions, provided the information in the photograph was not altered or staged for a recruiting purpose."
December 6th, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^
Doesn't Rosenberg work for them now?
December 6th, 2013 at 3:49 PM ^
Roseberg was rewarded for violating journalism's standards of both ethics and accuracy with a job at SI. They have kept a few people who do good work, but SI is definitely going in the wrong directon and has been for a few years now.
At this point, they should just abandon all pretense of being journalists and embrace what they are: entertainers. People would probably have a lot more respect for their honesty.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
...the hypothetical reasoning behind some of the enforcement rules mentioned in this thread (i.e. announcing a recruit at a basketball game) is to maintain parity among all schools, meaning to get yourself mentioned at an...OSU basketball game means more than getting an introduced at...I dunno, Dayton. The thing with this is anyone can make these (I know, people are going to say this was probably some intern that Dayton couldn't afford to have) hypothetically.
Not really sure I understand the moral condemnation here though?
December 6th, 2013 at 11:30 AM ^
really moral condemnation - more a lack of understanding of why one thing is ok and another is not. I like your explanation and helps to explain it - but I'm also guessing the theoretical "Dayton" wouldn't have the necessary clout (and cojones) to use SI's branded logo without repercussions.
Same way the NCAA is starting to dig it's heels in regarding Social Media - it's an ever changing target. Hard to know what is right and wrong anymore (and NOTHING is right about Webb being a Buckeye. NOTHING!)
December 6th, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^
I believe that the section on materials - recruiting, official, non-athletic, etc. - is 13.4 or something in that range in the manual. As I understood this, and I could be wrong here, the school cannot buy space for advertisements or promotional material such as this, but it doesn't stop outside parties from doing so or a magazine like SI from making recruiting or scouting previews. In turn, it seems like it is within the rules for the school to turn around and use that material for their own purposes provided it is generally available, and SI would almost certainly fall in that category.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^
It seems like nothing matters because most of those things are secondary violations. If the school self reports secondary violations nothing really happens to the school.
December 6th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^
This is one of the many reasons why I think how the NCAA is set up is soooo dumb. If I were a school, the same day I created the illegal artwork to woo the recruit I would be drafting up the secondary violation form to send to the NCAA to let them know I did it.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^
Why does it seem like NCAA rules are written so that if they want to they can get anyone on breaking the rules.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 11:49 AM ^
*chose
And the guy is just bringing up something that caught his eye as odd and hypocritical of the NCAA. Ease up, fella.
December 6th, 2013 at 12:15 PM ^
Also hate it when posters correct folks' grammar. It's one of those things that make this blog "special." Get a life or at least a take of your own.
December 6th, 2013 at 12:18 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^
BTW, what's it like being an idiot savant?
December 6th, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 3:14 PM ^
You are also a good speller.
December 6th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^
I disagree. I think it's the posters recommending suicide that makes the blog special.
December 6th, 2013 at 12:15 PM ^
is not directly about Webb - it's about the recruiting tactics used to attract his attention.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^
That thar's a pretty cool 'cruitin tactic.
December 6th, 2013 at 11:56 AM ^
More broadly to this topic, I am always interested in learning more about the NCAA rules and what behaviors do and do not constitute violations (however arbitrary they may seem to be). I know that WTKA did (does?) have a weekly segment with a UofM complaince employee, and I frequently found those segments to be interesting.
I don't know if anyone on this blog is involved in or has significant knowledge of NCAA rules/benefits/violations/etc., but I would very much welcome a regular post or diary that addresses some of the most common (read: most often & widely debated) aspects of NCAA compliance. Perhaps this is something that could help to fill the long and lonely post-football months on the blog. Just one man's thoughts.
December 6th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 12:25 PM ^
If it's a helpful recruiting tactic people on here should do their own photoshop mockups with recruits on magazine covers or their name on the back of a jersey of a player making a big play. If it looked cool enough it would make its way back to the recruit without having to target them directly.
December 6th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
There's still time to flip!
December 6th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^
'nuff said
December 6th, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^
I'd prefer him twice on Saturday.
December 6th, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 12:37 PM ^
but Webb looks a little excited to be a Buckeye, or maybe he's just happy to see us
December 6th, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
what is wrong with you?
December 6th, 2013 at 12:39 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 12:51 PM ^
if OSU had sent similar images to other recruits, and make them all aware that they are, collectively, "the Next Great Buckeye".
December 6th, 2013 at 2:06 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 1:35 PM ^
December 6th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
For a staff that said they were going to focus on Midwest/MI/Ohio boys missing out on 2 blue chippers instate doesn't bode well. So Webb to OSU, MM possibly going to MSU or OSU. If you take out 2 QBs we didn't want and Bullough who comes from a long line of Spartans we got 3/7 top players in the state but what gives with the other 2? Especially when you're losing them to rivals. It's not like MI produces an abundance of great players.
December 6th, 2013 at 2:37 PM ^
and not reallly related to NCAA violations but wouldn't OSU technically need Sports Illustrated's permission to do that?