Longing for common sense in NCAA rules
Posted: Sunday, April 12, 2009 8:23 PM
Filed Under:
Rants, Recruiting
It must be exhausting to be an NCAA compliance officer. Ensuring your school follows every rule and regulation is a never-ending task.
It’s a gig where you’re usually the party pooper and tell people they can’t do something.
And make no mistake, there’s a lot to cover. Give the rule book a read sometime. Catch up on your text messaging protocol or what kinds of greetings are appropriate between coaches and players.
But this new Facebook spin is over the top, even for the NCAA.
An N.C. State freshman started a Facebook group called “John Wall PLEASE come to NC State!!!!” only to have the school’s compliance officer send a cease and desist letter. From the AP story:
The NCAA says such sites, and dozens more like them wooing Wall and other top recruits, violate its rules. More than just cheerleading boards, the NCAA says the sites are an attempt to influence the college choice of a recruit.
Hogwash. They’re certainly an attempt to influence a recruit, but does anyone actually think it’s going to? It’s not so much for the recruit as it’s for the people in the group. They all want the same thing and are bonding over it.
Even the woman who sent the letter, Michelle Lee, thinks it’s a stupid rule. But she has to do her job and ensure the Wolfpack doesn’t commit any NCAA violations.
"I think nationally the NCAA needs to address further Facebook and how these groups play a part in recruiting,” she told the AP. "Is it realistic for us to be able to monitor them? What harm is a group like this causing? But as the legislation stands right now, this is the position we have to take.”
An NCAA spokesman says the organization is concerned about “intrusions into a high school student's life when they're trying to decide where to go to college.”
If that’s true, potential recruits should probably live in a protective bubble and not watch any TV, listen to any radio or read anything online, especially in March. Just think of the added “intrusions” from North Carolina’s run to the national title. The Heels were thrust into everyone’s living room on a daily basis by virtue of winning NCAA tournament games. Foul!
The NCAA’s trying to prevent schools from smothering recruits. I get that. And when fans start holind vigils outside of player's houses, begging them to attend a certain school or if recruits are besieged by phone calls or flyers, it'd be time to step in. But this new wrinkle isn't that. Not even close.
The rules are supposed to foster a level recruiting environment among schools and ensure nobody goes over the top and a precedent is set for what’s proper and what’s not. But there are other ways to lure recruits, and some of them aren’t against the rules.
Sigh. When will the NCAA just regulate with common sense?
