In light of the recent events that have transpired at Indiana University and Harvard, with both programs facing allegations of recruiting violations, the NCAA recruiting regulations have garnered national interest.
A recent visit to Saint Louis University Director of Compliance Janet Oberle’s office allowed us to view the 453-page NCAA Division-I rules manual-the Bible of the NCAA, if you will. It includes guidelines that coaches, administrators and players must follow.
If you want to avoid big headlines all over the media touting your coach’s latest mistake, then you do what the manual says. Most violations or issues that the general public hears about fall under three categories: recruiting, eligibility and awards and benefits.
Recruiting
It may be considered the most important skill for a coach to possess, which can make or break the future of a program. But some coaches disregard the rules that govern this process.
The most recent recruiting scandal involves Kelvin Sampson, who violated rules at Oklahoma University and Indiana University. Sampson committed the same infractions at both schools, making more than 500 unapproved phone calls to recruits and their families. He resigned from Indiana mid-season and will have a hearing with the NCAA disciplinary panel in June.
Eligibility
This section applies to students who transfer, redshirt, are injured or have academic issues. One simple mistake in this department could greatly cost the entire team.
In 2004, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team saw first-hand the effences of violating eligibility rules. It was forced to forfeit all games, fire members of its staff, agree not to compete in the postseason and forfeit future scholarships and recruiting privileges.
Awards and Benefits
The section says that students cannot receive preferential treatment because of their status as athletes.
This issue relates specifically to recent allegations filed against Harvard’s program for lowering academic standards for admission for prospective student athletes and offering academic scholarships to less academically-inclined students who excel at sports.
At SLU, be assured that the coaches are held to the highest standard of ethics, minus the whole Majerus vs. Archbishop Birke, pro-choice debaucle. Never has SLU been disgraced by a rules violation scandal, and judging by our hiring standards and constant review, such an event is unlikely to occur in the future.
Michael Evans and Robert Moehle are sophomores in the John Cook School of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences, respectively.
