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Recruiting: Penthouse suites on the way out?
From Associated Press and Staff Reports
A formal move appears imminent
by the principal governing body of college athletics to drop the hammer on
the boorish behavior and perceived excesses that have come to be associated
with recruiting.
An NCAA task force on
recruiting will recommend colleges be required to develop written policies
on alcohol and unsupervised entertainment, along with clear standards for
determining who should be held accountable for compliance.
The panel also will advise
that a number of lavish perks and privileges often showered by schools on
visiting prospects be eliminated.
Recommendations by the
18-member task force, formed in February by NCAA President Myles Brand in
the wake of several highly publicized recruiting scandals, will be presented
to the Division I Management Council on April 20 and reviewed by the
Division I Board of Directors on April 29.
Final recommendations will be
considered in July and sent to the Board of Directors in time to enact new
rules before the 2004-05 recruiting season, the NCAA said Tuesday.
The action was prompted in
part by allegations made by two women who contend that Colorado players or
recruits raped them at a 2001 party; a third said she was assaulted in a
dorm room shortly afterward. They are suing in federal court, seeking
unspecified damages.
Since 1997, at least eight
women have accused Colorado football players of rape, although no charges
have been filed in those cases.
"While it was noted that
alleged illegal conduct is a matter that should be left to law enforcement
officials ... the NCAA also has a role to ensure that proper national rules
and guidelines are in place to govern athletics recruiting practices, to
assess accountability for failures and to act as a resource to assist in
developing an institutional compliance program," the NCAA statement said.
Typically, NCAA rules changes
can take months or years. Brand, however, has asked that the recruiting
proposals be treated as "emergency legislation."
The task force recommendations
also include a requirement that hosts for athletes either be members of the
teams for which the prospects are being recruited or others chosen the same
way the college provides hosts to prospective students in general.
The group also urged requiring
recruits and hosts to sign a form agreeing not to engage in inappropriate
conduct as defined by the college.
Among other recommendations
that will be given to the Management Council:
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Require colleges that
provide air transportation to recruits to use commercial flights at
coach fare with no upgrades.
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Prohibit schools from
using special vehicles, such as cars modified with televisions or other
features, for recruits.
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Require recruits and their
parents be housed in standard lodging that does not include special
accessories not available generally to all guests, and standard meals
comparable to those provided to athletes during the academic year.
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Prohibit institutions from
providing personalized jerseys and personalized audio or video
presentations of recruits; the recruits would be allowed to be in the
locker room before or after a game and stand on the sideline during
pregame activities, but could not run onto the field with the team
during pregame introductions.
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Among other
recommendations considered but not supported by the task force was one
to reduce the number of official visits and shorten the 48-hour period
for each visit.
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02/23/2007 10:41:10 AM
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