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NCAA sends messageCollege coaches no longer can text message recruits
BY RAY RICHARDSON
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 04/27/2007 12:21:38 AM CDT
NCAA Division I coaches will have to find another way to make a quick connection with high school athletes.
In a move to counter the rapid growth of high-tech recruiting, the NCAA board of directors approved legislation Thursday to ban text messaging on cell phones by coaches.
The ruling, passed by a 13-3 vote, goes into effect Aug. 1 and will bring about significant changes in the recruiting process.
Excessive text messaging by coaches prompted athletes and administrators in the Ivy League to submit a proposal to ban the electronic communication.
"We're disappointed with the ruling," said Dan Berezowitz, new recruiting coordinator for the University of Minnesota football program. "Our staff was very aggressive with text messages, and we used it to our advantage. But we didn't bombard kids with 10 texts a day. We didn't abuse it."
Alleged abuse by coaching staffs and large phone bills for high schoolers (many cell phone companies charge a fee for each text message received) led the NCAA management council to recommend banning text messaging during its annual meetings this month in Indianapolis. The ban does not include e-mails or faxes. Other recruiting policies remained intact.
"We had a dilemma where student-athletes were expressing extreme concern about texting," NCAA Division I vice president David Berst said during a teleconference Thursday. "A lot of the student-athletes didn't appreciate the volume of the texts, waking up in the morning with 50 or more messages on their phones. Some of the abuses were from coaches texting them to call them back."
Several coaches committees tried in January to get the management council to consider a limited form of texting, including a provision that would have prohibited text messages after 10 p.m. and on Sundays. Berst said the board of directors saw no "workable solution" for an alternative.
"We went from one extreme to the other," Gophers women's basketball coach Pam Borton said. "We went from texting with some control to none at all. The coaches just wanted some form of regulation. Texting was a very valuable way for us to start developing relationships with kids. That part of it is gone."
Cretin Derham-Hall wide receiver Michael Floyd, projected to be one of the nation's top recruits this fall, might have the best solution. The talented junior said he doesn't give out his cell number to many coaches, which limits the number of text messages he gets.
Floyd has narrowed his choices to eight schools, including Minnesota, but only the coaching staffs from Florida, Notre Dame and Michigan have his cell phone number.
"The more you get into the recruiting process, you want to be able to lay back and chill," Floyd said. "I can call coaches any time I want. It's probably a good thing they've stopped all the texting."
Bloomington Jefferson basketball star Cole Aldrich remembers getting flooded with text messages before he made an oral commitment to Kansas in the spring of 2006. The 6-foot-11 center, who played in this year's McDonald's All-America game, is glad he made his college choice early.
"I would get text messages at dinnertime a lot when I was at home," Aldrich said. "It got a little irritating sometimes."
Berezowitz said the ruling would not pose a serious problem for new Gophers football coach Tim Brewster to attract "good players." When asked if there's a recruiting technique capable of replacing text messaging, within NCAA rules, Berezowitz gave a guarded answer.
"I have some ideas on that, but I don't want to give it away," he said.
Ray Richardson can be reached at rrichardson@pioneerpress.com.
NCAA sends messageCollege coaches no longer can text message recruits
BY RAY RICHARDSON
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 04/27/2007 12:21:38 AM CDT
NCAA Division I coaches will have to find another way to make a quick connection with high school athletes.
In a move to counter the rapid growth of high-tech recruiting, the NCAA board of directors approved legislation Thursday to ban text messaging on cell phones by coaches.
The ruling, passed by a 13-3 vote, goes into effect Aug. 1 and will bring about significant changes in the recruiting process.
Excessive text messaging by coaches prompted athletes and administrators in the Ivy League to submit a proposal to ban the electronic communication.
"We're disappointed with the ruling," said Dan Berezowitz, new recruiting coordinator for the University of Minnesota football program. "Our staff was very aggressive with text messages, and we used it to our advantage. But we didn't bombard kids with 10 texts a day. We didn't abuse it."
Alleged abuse by coaching staffs and large phone bills for high schoolers (many cell phone companies charge a fee for each text message received) led the NCAA management council to recommend banning text messaging during its annual meetings this month in Indianapolis. The ban does not include e-mails or faxes. Other recruiting policies remained intact.
"We had a dilemma where student-athletes were expressing extreme concern about texting," NCAA Division I vice president David Berst said during a teleconference Thursday. "A lot of the student-athletes didn't appreciate the volume of the texts, waking up in the morning with 50 or more messages on their phones. Some of the abuses were from coaches texting them to call them back."
Several coaches committees tried in January to get the management council to consider a limited form of texting, including a provision that would have prohibited text messages after 10 p.m. and on Sundays. Berst said the board of directors saw no "workable solution" for an alternative.
"We went from one extreme to the other," Gophers women's basketball coach Pam Borton said. "We went from texting with some control to none at all. The coaches just wanted some form of regulation. Texting was a very valuable way for us to start developing relationships with kids. That part of it is gone."
Cretin Derham-Hall wide receiver Michael Floyd, projected to be one of the nation's top recruits this fall, might have the best solution. The talented junior said he doesn't give out his cell number to many coaches, which limits the number of text messages he gets.
Floyd has narrowed his choices to eight schools, including Minnesota, but only the coaching staffs from Florida, Notre Dame and Michigan have his cell phone number.
"The more you get into the recruiting process, you want to be able to lay back and chill," Floyd said. "I can call coaches any time I want. It's probably a good thing they've stopped all the texting."
Bloomington Jefferson basketball star Cole Aldrich remembers getting flooded with text messages before he made an oral commitment to Kansas in the spring of 2006. The 6-foot-11 center, who played in this year's McDonald's All-America game, is glad he made his college choice early.
"I would get text messages at dinnertime a lot when I was at home," Aldrich said. "It got a little irritating sometimes."
Berezowitz said the ruling would not pose a serious problem for new Gophers football coach Tim Brewster to attract "good players." When asked if there's a recruiting technique capable of replacing text messaging, within NCAA rules, Berezowitz gave a guarded answer.
"I have some ideas on that, but I don't want to give it away," he said.
Ray Richardson can be reached at rrichardson@pioneerpress.com.
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