Last of the NCAA recruiting rule changes may also go down in flames

Submitted by Butterfield on

Yesterday we learned that 2 of the 3 new NCAA rule changes were being put on indefinite hold due to their unpopularity amongst member institutions, especially B1G schools.  These defeated rules dealt with who could recruit (basically anybody) and what they could send (basically anything), but the rule pertaining to quantities of texts/phone calls a recruit could receive was, astoundingly, left alive. 

Yesterday's news here:  http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ncaa-recruiting-rule-changes-probably-dead 

Well, it looks like it was only given a few extra days to live: 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/21912744/unlimited-phone-and-texts-to-recruits-in-danger-of-being-overridden 

Once again,,  institutions are telling the NCAA their new rules suck.  Assuming the override is succcessful, the winners will be the recruits (and the coaches who realized the rule was crazy).  The losers include cell phone providers, whoever drafts NCAA rules, and creepy text-happy coaches. 

Between yesterday and today, it feels like Arab Spring Part 2, just on an athletic level. 

Tater

March 19th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^

This is great news if it happens.  Players lose their private lives all too quickly without it happening when they are sophomores in high school.

Erik_in_Dayton

March 19th, 2013 at 3:11 PM ^

How could it ever have seemed like it was going to benefit recruits to be bombarded with 75 letters a day calling them "ballers"? 

Butterfield:  What happened to Roger? I almost didn't recognize you. 

93Grad

March 19th, 2013 at 3:18 PM ^

On the one hand, the ammount of time and energy needed to police these things seems like a waste.   On the other hand, the last thing teenage recruits need is more attention and sucking up. 

TrppWlbrnID

March 19th, 2013 at 3:48 PM ^

the NCAA would implement rules without asking their largest members first is just dizzying. i am not saying that the NCAA should be saying "hey, bama, what do you think we should do?" but at least something along the lines of a panel that they run things past that says "you know, this is kind of a dumb rule about the texts, nice try, but here are about 20 other things wrong with this sport right now, why don't you work on those? kthxbye."

ryebreadboy

March 19th, 2013 at 4:16 PM ^

This was the worst of the three IMO, so I'm glad to see its going down.



The last thing recruits need is to be bombarded 24/7. These kids need lives and time for homework, too.

LSAClassOf2000

March 19th, 2013 at 5:52 PM ^

Here was the specific football exception:

"13.1.3.1.21 Exception -- Football. In football, one telephone call to an individual (or the individual's relatives or legal guardians) may be made from April 15 through May 31 of the individual's junior year in high school. Additional telephone calls to an individual (or the individual's relatives or legal guardians) may not be made before September 1 of the beginning of the individual's senior year in high school. Thereafter, such telephone contact is limited to once per week outside a contact period, but may be made at the institution's discretion during a contact period."

The word's "at the institution's discretion" were a little disconcerting when read in conjunction with things like being allowed to have dedicated staffs to do things like this. I cannot imagine that level of distraction for anyone, especially a kid still trying to get through high school. It is nice to see schools voting in a manner which takes the well-being of the student into consideration. It was difficult not to see a scenario in which, for a surprisingly many, ceaseless contact with a school would have simply become noise, even demotivating for students.