To all parents of Dallas High school football players

[smu01]

I use to be an SMU running back back in the late 90's. currently i own a company called Alpharetta strength and conditioning..we train high school kids in the weight room and on the track to get "bigger stronger faster." i am well established in the college level and left florida state university strength program to persue working with high school kids...i know what it takes to improve ones perfomance on the football field...while at smu i recorded a 680 squat, 405 hang clean, 42.5 verticle, and a 4.39 40 yd dash.....if anyone has any connections with high school coaches please contact me further about working with them...i am determined to provide a service to kids to help them reach there goals and dreams.....especially if they are going to commite to SMU!!!

[EastStang]

Be careful and read the NCAA rules. Offering free anything to potential recruits can be an illegal inducement under NCAA rules. Can you say "death penalty"? Even talking up SMU to recruits as a former SMU player could violate NCAA rules. And if a kid who you talked to commits to another school how long would it be before he ratted you out? I would suggest that you talk to Coach Bennett before embarking on this plan of yours and let him tell you what you can and cannot do. Otherwise, you could be Exhibit A for "lack of institutitional control".

[smu01]

hahahah freee...what are you kidding me...no not free for a fee!!!!! this is one business that myself and a few college strength coaches have and offer to high school kids...there is nothing free about it. we offer proper strength training that will get a kid ready for college athletics. maybe i worded my post wrong but we are looking for anyone who may have an "in" with any high school coaches in the area to offer to take over there strength programs for a fee. and actually no..its not against ncaa rules to offer to train a kid for free and talk up a college..if i was a college strength coach then that would be different..but im not a college strength coach anymore..

[smu01]

and no, as an alumni of any school you can talk up your school to any high school recruit..it is a ncaa violation when you actually work for that college...but if josh mckown went to a high school stud quaterback and talked to him about comming to smu then that is in no way a violation...the person has to have some type of official affiliation with the institution to be in any violation of ncaa

[mrydel]

and no, as an alumni of any school you can talk up your school to any high school recruit..it is a ncaa violation when you actually work for that college...but if josh mckown went to a high school stud quaterback and talked to him about comming to smu then that is in no way a violation...the person has to have some type of official affiliation with the institution to be in any violation of ncaa

A former player HAS an affiliation with the school. If you contact HS players and talk up SMU you are recruiting. You do not have to believe me, Estang or anyone else. Just simply call the atheltic department and see what the guidelines are. You may be surprised.

[smu01]

maybe but i know for a fact that colleges do it... it was done to me....and i know for a fact that college strength coaches train high school kids in there area...smu faucett does it or he did it...i think it might be the same for dead period for recruiting....but then again strength coaches have different rules the football coaches when it comes to recruiting and other aspects...football coaches cant be on the field during summer workouts but the strength coaches can......things like that..all i know is if my company came in and trained high school kids in dallas that is perfectly legal even though i played for smu..now if i gave special privilages like free training or money or other things to those smu recruits then that is a violation

[Terry Webster]

Check the problems that USC is looking at in regards to former players talking up the school and program. The person owns a restaraunt that is visited by recruits. I don't think that there is much difference here. Besides, we all know that the NCAA will slap us a lot harder than USC for doing the same thing.

[NavyCrimson]

sad but true -

like they say, the 'c' in ncaa stands for 'corrupt'

[mrydel]

Doing your job is certainly not a violation. Soliciting players interested in SMU could be. Promoting SMU while talking to a prospect is a visit and visits are limited to a certain number. If you are talking to a potential recruit about SMU and then coaches subsequently call on him, the allowed visits could be exceeded thus a violation. A recruiting coach wants to maximize his calls on a prospect and would not want to have to give up a visit because an alumnus went on his own to see a recruit. That is why I suggest you contact the athletic department as to what is or is not available as far as recruiting goes. Again, doing your job is certainly allowed but there is a fine line as to what you can and can not do as far as promoting SMU, or any other school for that matter.

[giacfsp]

By that theory ....

What about Michael Irvin shameless touting "The U" in all his broadcasts? ("Ed Reed is the greatest safety who ever lived -- he went to The U. Ray Lewis is the greatest linebacker alive -- he went to The U. Andre Johnson is the greatest receiver -- after me -- he went to The U.") Couldn't that be construed as an unfair recruiting plug from an alum (or at least a former player)?

[smu01]

giving recruit anything free is a violation.....we dont give anything free to any recruite except advice when it is asked. so yes i do agree with you two guys.....but im sure the USC problem had something to do with that resturant giving out free food or something to recruites..

[smu01]

ok also real quick...i dont give a flip about recruiting for SMU....or anyother school..if an alumni goes on his own to talk to a kid, doesnt offer him anything or buy him anything..that is in no way a violation...if a high school blue chipper in atlanta came up and asked me about smu..becasue he is decidign between smu and maybe tcu..me talking to him is not a violation.....this whole post was simply to inform parents and hopefully some coaches that there are companies out there like mine that specialize in enhanicing the performance of athletes on and off the field...when i said especially kids interested in smu..well ya, it would be a kick to train some kids that are interested in smu cause i played there...but in no way would i offer free anything or even try to recruite for smu...i worked with some kids that went to top 1-A schools this past year and i gave them my opinion on where they should go based on there interest and personalities...6 of 8 took my advice...know i trained them and that is in no way a violation is it..

[mrydel]

By that theory ....

What about Michael Irvin shameless touting "The U" in all his broadcasts? ("Ed Reed is the greatest safety who ever lived -- he went to The U. Ray Lewis is the greatest linebacker alive -- he went to The U. Andre Johnson is the greatest receiver -- after me -- he went to The U.") Couldn't that be construed as an unfair recruiting plug from an alum (or at least a former player)?

What recruit is he meeting with when he says those things. That is no different than Craig James saying something positive about SMU duirng a broadcast, although rare. I am talking about requesting parents to send their chidren to his place of business where he could talk to them about SMU. Soliciting business is one thing. Marketing to SMU recruits and then directly talking to them while perhaps not a violation, would at best constitute a visit and thus sets up the potential of a violation even if by accident. Again, any time I have had the opportunity to speak with a possible recruit, I have taken a whole 5 minutes and called the athletic department or emailed the athletic department and operated on their advice as to whether or not I could or should do anything. That is the safe thing to do. They pay big bucks to have people oversee these items. Also, a true accidental "bump" where you bump into a potential recruit at the mall or at a basketball game or some other event, is ok. But you have to be sure it is not a "predesigned" bump or trouble can happen. This is not an attempt to stop anyone from doing their job. I just do not want to go through another investigation of misdoings at SMU in my life time, and I would like my life time to last longer than the next few years.

[smu01]

jesus christ guys!!!!! you guys are looking way to into this....FOR THE RECORD MY COMPANY DOES NOT GO AFTER HIGH SCHOOL KIDS INTERESTED IN SMU!!! we look to train any athlete who wants our help!!!! in training these kids they ask all kinds of questions especially when signing day approaches..if a kid i train ask me about smu or georgia or georgia tech i dont have to call and ask the dam athletic department if i can talk to him......ncaa does not care if you talk to recruites..they care if the football coaches call an smu alumni and ask him to go recriute for them...that is a dam violation!!!...but please this post was not about giving smu potential recruites free training sessions if they went to smu...good lord...

[giacfsp]

By that theory ....

What about Michael Irvin shameless touting "The U" in all his broadcasts? ("Ed Reed is the greatest safety who ever lived -- he went to The U. Ray Lewis is the greatest linebacker alive -- he went to The U. Andre Johnson is the greatest receiver -- after me -- he went to The U.") Couldn't that be construed as an unfair recruiting plug from an alum (or at least a former player)?

What recruit is he meeting with when he says those things....

The argument could be made that he's talking to every recruit in the country who watches NFL GameDay.

I see it as being a little different from what Craig James has said about SMU (which you're right, is rare). I've heard Craig James say "when I was at SMU, Eric Dickerson did this or that." Irvin, on the other hand, says (frequently), "When you go to The U., you learn this, or get that benefit." Basically comes down to James talking about the past versus Irvin talking about how great Miami is NOW. Personally, I liked the way Aaron Taylor mentioned his affiliation when he (and James, ironically) were broadcasting from the Fiesta Bowl last night. They were asked for predictions, and James said Ohio State. Taylor said "I've got to home-team it: Notre Dame." It was out there for public consumption that he's a ND alum and fan, but that was it. Very well-played by Taylor.

I can't believe I just complimented a ND guy. That makes my skin crawl....