NCAA Way Out Of Bounds On This One

This is really ridiculous. Seriously, at what point will the NCAA declare martial law upon its athletes?

In what seems to be a move just to remind coaches who's in charge, the NCAA is apparently entertaining the idea of passing a rule, or law or whatever, that will prohibit them from text messaging recruits.

Nevermind that this comes about two weeks after Mitch Barnhart joked that Gillispie texts about 8,000 times a month, now all of a sudden the NCAA wants to regulate Black Berry use and anything else a coach may use to 'text' their potential student athlete.
From Kentucky.com,

Two factors caused the Ivy League to sponsor the ban on text messaging. ‘Hearing from coaches all hours of the day and night is intrusive,’ said Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, associate director of the Ivy League. Then there is the cost of the phone bill when prospects send return text messages.

Really? And how many potential student athletes hear from the same coach all day long? Are we talking a majority or minority because this involves passing a measure which will affect everyone.

And the cost of the text-messaging bill? Are you serious? Does the NCAA already discipline coaches and schools for calling high school coaches on all types of phones, cell phones, rotary phones, pay phones, etc.? What type of contact does the NCAA accept as a reasonable means for coaches to recruit young kids? What about emails? Does the NCAA already or do they want to regulate emails from coaches to high schools? Technology has changed, is changing, and maybe the NCAA needs to change along with it.

Then Carolyn Campbell-McGovern goes on to say this …

“They don't know if they're going to get a scholarship,” Campbell-McGovern said. “They feel compelled to text the person back right away. Even if they're in Spanish class, they feel they have to respond right away.”

Campbell-McGovern acknowledged the Ivy League connotes a disconnect with the ‘real‘ world of college athletics. However, she said athletes in and out of the Ivy League asked for the ban.

“This is clearly the way high school students want to communicate with each other,” she said of text messaging. “It's not clear this is really the way they want to communicate with adults.”

Students feel compelled to text back to college coaches? Really? How many are we talking about? Last I heard, it was the student's right to make a decision on which school to attend, I mean unless these kids are being bribed, why would any of them feel compelled or obligated to call a coach back just because he/she text messaged him? I understand there are different maturity levels involved but what's the difference between a text message and a phone call; both get the message to the other end. Some kids, if they're really good, they'll get into a school of their choice, and some kids, yeah, they have to work harder for a scholarship offer, but I don't see the difference between a text message and a cell phone call. And most phones these days allows you to check your emails, so is the NCAA going to regulate emails too if they haven't already because if they regulate text messaging, emails will be going through the roof. It really comes down to how many high school kids are we talking about when you say they feel they have to respond right away and is it worth putting in a measure that will affect, excuse my lack of sensitivity, possibly a minority of student athletes when maybe text messaging is an important tool for coaches recruiting the top kids in the nation? If we are talking anything less than 50% then I don't think it merits the NCAA to get involved.

Text messaging is clearly the way students like to communicate with each other but it's not clear that this is the way they want to communicate with adults? Ok, are we talking adults or college coaches? And if it's not clear with you, then maybe, just maybe, the NCAA should be clear before they get involved and pass a measure regulating it.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches Deputy Executive Director Reggie Minton said their survey shows that coaches are divided among this issue but he doesn't exactly say how many is for and how many is against,

“I don't want to say it's 50/50, but that's close enough,” he [Minton] said. “Some like it the way it is. Others want it more regulated.”

No, it's not close enough. If you surveyed the coaches, then I want to know which coaches from which particular school voted which way because it does matter if a clear majority of Division 1 coaches oppose the measure. Like I said, if it's anywhere under 50%, the NCAA has no business trying to get involved in passing a ban on text messaging. It's a tool for every single coach out there, so don't punish the majority for the sake of the minority when if in reality the students aren't hindered in any way by it to begin with.

Sad thing is, if the proposal is passed it will only allow email and faxing and any other future communication technology would have to be approved first. My question is, if the measure will only allow email and faxing, then what's the difference to begin with? Most cell phones and certainly Black Berries allow you to check your emails - so why all this fuss over text messaging when you're going to be using the same device anyways to check your emails? Why are we trying to make it hard for coaches and students? Is this just a power trip for a select few in authority or is this because everyone knows now that Billy Gillispie out-does EVERYONE and the NCAA wants to level the playing field? This is really ridiculous.

Minton says even more,

“But I also know of a staff that sent 500 pieces of mail to a recruit every day,” Minton said. “At some point, we reach the absurd.”

If it doesn't hinder the student athlete and it helps both the player and coach then what business is it of ours to say it's absurd enough to ban it? The student has to have the grades to begin with, so if neither party is hurt by the other, what right do we have to say otherwise?

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