Text Message Ban

[irish0307]

Division I board to consider text message ban

INDIANAPOLIS -- An NCAA committee has approved a measure banning the use of text messaging in recruiting, potentially closing a loophole that has been used by coaches since the technology became widespread.


This week, the organization's Division I Management Council approved the proposal, submitted by members of the Ivy league, and forwarded it to the Division I Board of Directors for consideration at their April 26 meeting in Indianapolis.

Coaches have been using text messaging on cell phones and other personal communication devices to skirt the NCAA's limitations on contact with prospective recruits using traditional means, such as phone calls and letters. While the NCAA limits the amount of contact coaches may have with players, it had no regulations on text-messaging and other high-tech communications.

"It's intruding on their lives and creating inappropriate relationships with coaches. If you don't stop it now, what roads are you going to have to cross later on?" Anna Chappell, chairwoman of the Division I Student-Athletic Advisory Council and a former basketball player at Arizona, told the committee. "If you want to 'keep up with the times' and 'keep up to speed with student-athletes,' you forget that student-athletes as a whole said they wanted the elimination of text-messaging."




What do you guys think of this? I think it could hurt us and help us at the same time.

 

[gallup21]

you forget that student-athletes as a whole said they wanted the elimination of text-messaging."QUOTE]


That's BS..maybe some do, but to say as a whole?

 

[Freeman Ara]

I don't think it helps or hurts either way. Everyone is banned from doing it so your still on a level playing field. Think about it if a guy has offers from 10 different schools and they are text messaging him 5 times a day each, thats just ridiculous. My cell phone plan covers 1000 text messages a month for an extra 10.00 a month but at that rate you go through that in two weeks. I think this is good for both the kids and the parents who are shelling out for the cell phone bills.

 

[notredomer23]

my plan has 1000 txt messages also.... I used those in about a week in a half maybe 2. I guess its good that they set the ban because before i got unlimited txting it was a dollar a txt.

 

[kjones]

It's gotta help the coaches out as well. Texting 50 kids personally everyday takes a lot of time out of your schedule. I would imagine many coaches are actually a little bit relieved to not have to do this and not feel like they are getting behind the curve. Hopefully this will take some of the steam out of the "Zooks" of the world who go with no sleep telling kids how they are so hip and up to date even though the program sucks. Really, the advantage here has to go to bigger schools with famous programs that rely less on "seeming cool to kids" to trick them into coming to places like Illinois.

There are downsides i see too, but i prefer throwing out the "different" opinions.

 

[irishlaw77]

Text messaging was pretty much an end-run around the contact rules, so it was inevitable that it would be limited severely. Note that if this passes, it's not effective until August. Coaches will try to find another way around the rules I'm sure. I know there are already NCAA limits placed on e-mail. Whatever the next new thing is, coaches will jump all over it. Recruits' parents will be glad to have this off the phone bills, and should be much less distracting to kids.

 

[rockne19]

what is the zooker gonna do now?

 

[irishlaw77]

Here's another article on the subject that goes into a little more depth.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2841603

 

[leprechaun4life]

I think the text messages should have been limited, I don't think it should have been completely banned. It's kind of extreme to go from absolute freedom with texts to absolutely none at all. I'm sure coaches will find a way around the ban, but whatever it is will be a lot less convenient.

One good thing is that Cockwad will have a much harder time trying to steal recruits. Recruiting will also become a little less creepy since middle-eged men won't be constantly texting HS kids telling them how great they are etc. And some of the egotistical recruits will have to be humbled since their isn't a coach contacting them every second.

 

[rockne19]

a little off topic but does anyone think that b.newman will committ this weekend?how about fleming?any word on crist?

 

[irish0307]

From Rivals.com

Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello: "We're extremely disappointed. We've argued time and time again the benefits of text messaging. This is how young people today communicate, and I think this is a totally short-sighted move by the NCAA. We've put a considerable amount of time and effort into this issue, and the NCAA has failed to keep up with how people communicate today. That's the way I communicate with my players here on campus, and I know assistant coaches all across the board were strongly in favor of keeping some sort of text messaging.

"The AFCA came up with some proposals that we submitted to this same subcommittee that would have taken months away from when coaches could text a recruit. It would have taken some, and it would have given some. The proposals would have put a cap on it and really regulated how it was done. But they totally shot it down. I'm surprised they took it this far."

 

[johnnd05]

a little off topic but does anyone think that b.newman will committ this weekend?how about fleming?any word on crist?

Rockne you have got to be the funniest poster on this board ...

Crist announces in a day and an hour, though.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

My question is why it took the NCAA this long to do something about it. It's not like coaches just started using this loophole last fall. I always thought it was unfair for the parents/guardians whose name the account is in when they receive an enormous bill b/c all the overzealous coaches sent more than the monthly allotment of text messages. Do the parents have any way to recoup this money?

 

[kjones]

Here's to recruiting taking over myspace and youtube!

 

[Irishknight1023]

Yeah haha it will be funny to see Urban record a video for Youtube and send it to each recruit showing himself at one of his BBQ's singing karaoke and showing how hip he is