OT: Who are recruiters?

[San Antonio Mustang]

Can anyone other than the Head Coach or Assistant Coaches recruit for a college?

[Stallion]

No with respect to off campus recruiting. A recruiting coordinator can also recruit. Of course, during on campus visits there is more contact allowed.

[San Antonio Mustang]

Thanks Stallion. Are we to assume if the news reports are correct that the phone calls between recruiters and the Newtons must have been with the Head Coach or an Assistant Coach?

[Stallion]

you need to be more specific. The reports I saw was a third party making contact with an alumnus of Miss St. That's not a recruiting contact with a recruit. I think there were new reports today but I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing. Basically the NCAA is unlikely to hold any school liable for a rouge third party that is not an employee or representative of the university. But if you establish an alumnus is a representative of a university(an employee or member of Booster Club for example) then that school is more likely to receive sanctions. Don't know if a representative of Auburn has been specifically identified that provided illegal benefits-although this story is moving quickly.

[San Antonio Mustang]

I am not referring to Auburn. ESPN is reporting that Cam Newton's father told a Miss St recruiter that it would take more than a scholarship and referred him to a third party. They are also reporting that Cam Newton himself told another Miss. St. recruiter that he had to switch because the money was too great. The recruiters then reported these telephone calls to their compliance officer. What caught my attention is the term recruiters. If the Head Coach or an Assistant Coach is saying he had a telephone conversation with the father and the player then it gives the reports more credibility than if if was just some employee. It would not be a smart career move for a coach to make up such a conversation.

[Stallion]

based upon what I've read along the lines of what you are saying., Cam Newton's father was talking about Newton's third party not Mississippi St.'s third party. Auburn is the team being investigated. This raises an inference that Auburn "must have paid" Newton but is far from conclusive from a legal perspective and has to be corroborated with some actual evidence incriminating Auburn. It gets close when Newton said he turned down Mississippi St. because there was too much money involved. Why do they need more? Because Miss St. and Auburn are rivals. Would you want SMU to be put on probation for what the UT coaching staff claimed we did. Newton has denied the claim. Generally, in SMU's case there were specific SMU recruits for example that came forward and offered direct proof to the NCAA that SMU paid players including David Stanley, Sean Stopperich and others. I wouldn't be surprised if a national media gets this story. I agree there is plenty of smoke here. They need to establish an offer by a representative of Auburn and an acceptance of illegal recruiting benefits by Newton.

[San Antonio Mustang]

Of course this is not direct evidence that Auburn paid, but it the "recruiters" are credible people with something to loose by making up the telephone conversations then it does rise to a reasonable suspicion that someone paid to get Newton and since he went to Auburn it was someone who wanted him there. It takes it out of the Witch Hunt and rumor category. Thus the question of what does the term "recruiters" as a party to a telephone call mean.