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The Flaws of College Recruiting By Enzo Cortet

The art of college recruiting has become such an important part of a coach’s job that they are willing to go to extreme measures in order to get the signature of an athlete. Measures that could cost them their jobs and their school its image. Measures that can be paying the athlete money for them to come to your school, making contact with the athlete outside of the contacting periods set forth by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or also known as the NCAA.

The NCAA is an association that controls and monitors all collegiate sports in America. It controls all recruiting, eligibility, drug testing, etc. Known for its strict rules on recruiting, for instance no athlete is to receive improper benefits from coaches like presents, money, dinners, etc or coaches are not allowed to contact players outside of the official contacting dates that the NCAA has set forth, this association is also in-charge of issuing out punishments for breaking their laws.

Cases of coaches breaking the recruiting rules always come up here and there. For instance, Renardo Sidney, a top high-school basketball recruit who signed for Mississippi State was proven guilty of receiving improper benefits from the coaching staff of the university. In response to this breaching of the rules, the NCAA ordered that Sidney had to sit out the entire 09-10 season and 30 percent of this year’s season. Others stories involving players being suspended have occurred over the years. For instance, Chicago Bulls point guard and protégée, Derek Rose, had been proven guilty of having someone take his SAT’s for him. This action therefore ruled him ineligible for NCAA play and it took away the wins and titles the university of Memphis earned during his short one-year stint at the college.

The NCAA has proven over the years that it has no tolerance for coaches who try to gain an edge on other colleges on the recruitment on players around the country. University of Connecticut basketball coach, Jim Calhoun learned the hard way as his teams were sanctioned for illegally providing lodging, transportation, and meals to Nate Miles, a recruit of the Huskies. UCONN was therefore stripped of the amount of scholarships it could offer to new recruits and it imposed a curve ball that UCONN had to deal with during the next couple years of recruiting. Gaining an edge on other coaches is enough to risk the NCAA coming down on you heavily for your actions as most violations of NCAA rules are gone unpunished. A source, wanting to stay anonymous, stated that he received improper benefits while being recruited as the coach of a college on the trails of this recruit, took him out to lunch and paid for his meal.

Although many of these violations seem to be small breakings of the rules, the NCAA will sanction one just as hard for paying for a meal to paying the player to come to your school.

Rob Marino, a soccer coach at a local club called the Next Level Soccer Academy gave his input on the flaws of college recruiting. “Being contacted outside of NCAA regulated zones is just like when athletes receive improper benefits. Being contacted outside of the specific dates is something that most athletes in America love and accept with welcoming arms, partially because of their lack of knowledge on the dates and regulations set forth by the NCAA. Receiving improper benefits is another issue that athletes seem to accept. They feel that if they do not accept the proposals of these college coaches that the coach will loose interest in them. Therefore this state of fear plays along with the violations of NCAA recruiting laws that we see so often today.”

With the chance of getting away with these acts so high, most coaches almost find it worth breaking the laws and putting at risks their organizations. In order for these violations to stop, the NCAA either has to improve its investigations or change the rules completely.