The Division I Board of Directors will consider a set of recruiting restrictions in men’s basketball that would curb compensatory relationships with people associated with prospects and suspend coaches who violate those rules.....
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive, who along with a group of other conference commissioners will present the package to the Board, said the reforms will draw a “bright line” between what is and is not permissible.
“It has become evident that more individuals have inserted themselves into the recruiting process other than the families of the prospects in a way that is contrary to the spirit of the legislation,” he said. “These proposed changes make the spirit of the legislation the letter of the legislation in a way that has not been done in the past.”
“This is an attempt to ‘bright-line’ practices that are acceptable and consistent with what we’re trying to accomplish in pre-collegiate basketball,” Delany said. “If you starve the system of money, prospects will be free to make decisions on the basis of the right educational and athletics considerations, rather than because there’s a third-party adult who is influencing him as a result of benefits received.”(Big Ten Commisioner, Jim Delany)
The initial recommendations would affect:
-Employment relating to non-coaching staff positions
-Employment at camps and clinics
-Payment of consulting fees
-Subscriptions to recruiting services with limited value
-Donations to non-profits
-1-900 numbers for telephone contact with a recruit
If the Board approves the initial recommendations, proposals would be introduced in the 2009-10 legislative cycle that would target:
-Non-coaching staff hiring practices by prohibiting institutions from hiring as non-coaching personnel individuals associated with prospects two years before or after the prospect’s actual or anticipated enrollment. The legislation is intended to offer coaches a choice between recruiting the prospect and hiring the person associated with the prospect.
-Institutional camp/clinic employment by allowing institutions to hire only its own staff members or enrolled students at its camps and clinics.
-Institutional camp operation by allowing recruiting during institutional camps, and stating that prospects do not have to leave the locale to begin an unofficial visit.
-Non-Scholastic events on campus by prohibiting Division I institutions from hosting, sponsoring or conducting non-scholastic men’s basketball events on campus or in facilities regularly used by the institution.
-Payment of consulting fees by prohibiting fees to individuals associated with a prospect.
If approved through the structure, the effective date for all the proposals would be May 1, 2010.
