NCAA may make recruiting rules more strict
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 7:12 amNCAA may make recruiting rules more strict
Posted: Thursday February 12, 2004 8:37PM; Updated: Thursday February 12, 2004 11:30PM
From: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.COM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Stories of high school football stars having wild recruiting trips on college campuses have been around forever. Recently, those whispers have turned into front-page news.
Three sexual assault lawsuits in Colorado. A stripper company saying it has provided topless dancers for years at many schools. And the star of Miami's recruiting class is jailed for what he allegedly did during a recruiting trip to Florida.
It's all too much for NCAA president Myles Brand to tolerate at once.
So on Thursday, hours before being part of a panel discussion on values and ethics in college sports, Brand took action, announcing the formation of a task force that will re-examine the organization's recruiting rules.
"The allegations are serious enough and the talk is that it's very extensive," Brand said. "We have to be proactive and immediate about it and not push it under the rug."
Brand said it was "an interesting coincidence" that he took an ethical stand the same day he, Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger, Texas coach Mack Brown and former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer, the founder of the Bowl Championship Series, took part in the public discussion on the TCU campus.
"But ethical concerns are really at the heart of what the NCAA and college sports are all about," said Brand, who in his previous job as president of Indiana University also took a stand against basketball coach Bob Knight.
"College sports is not a business. It's about educating young men and women in the field and in the classroom. And that has serious ethical implications."
More than 1,000 people attended the two-hour event Thursday night. The liveliest moments centered on the BCS, which was to be expected considering TCU fought most of last season to earn a spot in one of the lucrative games. The Horned Frogs had an uphill battle because they were in a non-BCS conference.
Kramer defused any tension by opening his remarks by saying fans should thank him for all the publicity his system brought the school. It was so well received that Brown opened his remarks by talking about the crowd's reaction.
"He turned a crisis into a positive, and that's what we're here about tonight," Brown said. "So, commissioner Kramer, congratulations. That was unbelievable. I've heard these people cuss you all year."
BCS talk dominated the question-and-answers session, too. Also noteworthy was Brown taking a strong stance against rogue coaches and Brand following up with a jab at the administrators who give those coaches a second chance, saying they "deserve a higher degree of blame."
Geiger and Brand were supportive of the federal judge's ruling that opens the NFL to everyone, regardless of when or if they graduated high school, thus allowing Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett to enter the draft.
They also emphasized that college sports would be better off if the NBA and NFL supported developmental leagues for college-age players who don't want to continue their education.
"No one should go to college just because they want to use it as a stepping stone to professional sports," Brand said.
Earlier Thursday, Brand said he wants the task force to clarify existing recruiting rules, which would help with enforcement. He wants a report in about 60 days, with changes in place by the next recruiting season.
"We're not going to take a year to do it," Brand said. "We're on top of it now."
In the most prominent case, three women are suing the University of Colorado, saying they were raped at or after an off-campus party for football recruits in December 2001.
A newspaper story about Colorado football players allegedly hiring strippers for recruits led to the head of a Colorado-based stripper agency saying his firm has supplied topless dancers at campuses in Colorado, Texas and Nevada.
Miami signee Willie Williams surrendered to authorities Tuesday because of charges stemming from his trip to Gainesville, Fla., over Super Bowl weekend. He's accused of setting off three fire extinguishers in his hotel, grabbing a woman against her will and hitting a man at a bar in a span of five hours.
Brand's response, the most immediate to any situation in his 13-month tenure, is meant to show how serious he and the NCAA are about cleaning up college sports. Geiger called the swift reaction "awesome."
"The enterprise of college athletics is obviously suffering from this," Geiger said. "Let's do our best to get it right and get it right now."
Posted: Thursday February 12, 2004 8:37PM; Updated: Thursday February 12, 2004 11:30PM
From: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.COM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Stories of high school football stars having wild recruiting trips on college campuses have been around forever. Recently, those whispers have turned into front-page news.
Three sexual assault lawsuits in Colorado. A stripper company saying it has provided topless dancers for years at many schools. And the star of Miami's recruiting class is jailed for what he allegedly did during a recruiting trip to Florida.
It's all too much for NCAA president Myles Brand to tolerate at once.
So on Thursday, hours before being part of a panel discussion on values and ethics in college sports, Brand took action, announcing the formation of a task force that will re-examine the organization's recruiting rules.
"The allegations are serious enough and the talk is that it's very extensive," Brand said. "We have to be proactive and immediate about it and not push it under the rug."
Brand said it was "an interesting coincidence" that he took an ethical stand the same day he, Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger, Texas coach Mack Brown and former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer, the founder of the Bowl Championship Series, took part in the public discussion on the TCU campus.
"But ethical concerns are really at the heart of what the NCAA and college sports are all about," said Brand, who in his previous job as president of Indiana University also took a stand against basketball coach Bob Knight.
"College sports is not a business. It's about educating young men and women in the field and in the classroom. And that has serious ethical implications."
More than 1,000 people attended the two-hour event Thursday night. The liveliest moments centered on the BCS, which was to be expected considering TCU fought most of last season to earn a spot in one of the lucrative games. The Horned Frogs had an uphill battle because they were in a non-BCS conference.
Kramer defused any tension by opening his remarks by saying fans should thank him for all the publicity his system brought the school. It was so well received that Brown opened his remarks by talking about the crowd's reaction.
"He turned a crisis into a positive, and that's what we're here about tonight," Brown said. "So, commissioner Kramer, congratulations. That was unbelievable. I've heard these people cuss you all year."
BCS talk dominated the question-and-answers session, too. Also noteworthy was Brown taking a strong stance against rogue coaches and Brand following up with a jab at the administrators who give those coaches a second chance, saying they "deserve a higher degree of blame."
Geiger and Brand were supportive of the federal judge's ruling that opens the NFL to everyone, regardless of when or if they graduated high school, thus allowing Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett to enter the draft.
They also emphasized that college sports would be better off if the NBA and NFL supported developmental leagues for college-age players who don't want to continue their education.
"No one should go to college just because they want to use it as a stepping stone to professional sports," Brand said.
Earlier Thursday, Brand said he wants the task force to clarify existing recruiting rules, which would help with enforcement. He wants a report in about 60 days, with changes in place by the next recruiting season.
"We're not going to take a year to do it," Brand said. "We're on top of it now."
In the most prominent case, three women are suing the University of Colorado, saying they were raped at or after an off-campus party for football recruits in December 2001.
A newspaper story about Colorado football players allegedly hiring strippers for recruits led to the head of a Colorado-based stripper agency saying his firm has supplied topless dancers at campuses in Colorado, Texas and Nevada.
Miami signee Willie Williams surrendered to authorities Tuesday because of charges stemming from his trip to Gainesville, Fla., over Super Bowl weekend. He's accused of setting off three fire extinguishers in his hotel, grabbing a woman against her will and hitting a man at a bar in a span of five hours.
Brand's response, the most immediate to any situation in his 13-month tenure, is meant to show how serious he and the NCAA are about cleaning up college sports. Geiger called the swift reaction "awesome."
"The enterprise of college athletics is obviously suffering from this," Geiger said. "Let's do our best to get it right and get it right now."