National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

February 23, 1998

Cabinet wants new legislation for basketball recruiting

The nature of recruiting for Division I men's basketball will change if legislation that is being sponsored by the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet is ultimately approved by the Division I Management Council and Board of Directors.

At its February 11 meeting at Hilton Head, South Carolina, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation recommended by its Subcommittee on Recruiting that would reduce both the time spent in summer recruiting and the influence of individuals not involved in education on the entire process.

"We want to send a strong message to some of those involved in the summer camps that the high-school and college communities intend to be more fully engaged in the basketball recruiting process," said Michael B. McGee, director of athletics at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and chair of the recruiting subcommittee.

Legislation will be submitted to the membership for review and comment within the next 30 days that would have the following effects:

  • The summer evaluation period would be reduced from 24 days to 14 days, selected from July 8 to July 31. Selection of the days would be made at the discretion of each member institutions and designated in writing in the office of the director of athletics.

  • The "person days" eliminated in the month of July would be moved to the academic year. Specifically, the subcommittee supported the establishment of additional evaluation periods in the months of October, April and May. As a result, coaches would be permitted to evaluate prospects from September 5 to May 31, with the exception of the current dead periods, increasing the total number of "person days" during the academic year from 40 to 70.

  • During the academic year, coaching staffs would be restricted to evaluating only basketball activities and events that are approved, sanctioned, sponsored or conducted by the applicable state high-school association, National Federation of State High School Associations or the National Junior College Athletic Association outside of the prospect's normal high-school, preparatory school or two-year college season.

  • The 18 consecutive-day contact period, which is currently from September 9 to September 26, would be expanded to September 5 to October 5. Coaching staffs still would be restricted to 18 days during the new time period to make in-person, off-campus contact with basketball prospects.

  • Coaching staffs would be restricted from having telephone contact with individuals who are involved with prospects in nonscholastic basketball activities between April 1 and August 1.

  • Coaching staffs for both men's and women's basketball would be permitted to make one telephone call to a prospect during his or her junior year in high school from April 24 to May 15, and only three calls to a prospect from June 20 to July 31, with no more than one per week.

    "We know that the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has objected to the April-May telephone call," McGee said. "We already have a similar opportunity in football and have had feedback from the National Federation of State High School Associations in a survey of 18 state associations that there has been no indication of problems with that spring phone call from football coaches. But we have asked the SAAC to get feedback from its constituents on the effect of that legislation. We will continue to seek input from others on this particular point."

    Given the time required for comment by the membership and review at the Management Council and Board of Directors levels, the proposed legislation would not be effective until spring and summer of 1999.

    "We see this as a first step and may pursue others to address the problems associated with summer basketball recruiting," McGee said. "During the course of the subcommittee's discussion February 10, we had conference calls with the executive directors of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the National Federation. All agree that this is an important first step."

    The AEC cabinet also heard a report from its Subcommittee on Amateurism and Agents with regard to that group's review of amateurism issues. The subcommittee has spent much of its time since being created last June reviewing NCAA amateurism legislation, reviewing the work of the former Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism, and interviewing student-athletes and others associated with collegiate or Olympic sports.

    "Our discussions with student-athletes and representatives from national governing bodies, as well as our review of amateurism legislation, has convinced the subcommittee that our focus should be on eligibility in NCAA programs," said M. Lee Pelton, dean of the college at Dartmouth College and chair of the subcommittee, "rather than attempting to make distinctions between amateurism and professionalism.

    "The real issue is who is eligible to participate in college sports and on what basis. The subcommittee will continue to focus its efforts on that issue," Pelton said.

    The cabinet agreed to the subcommittee recommendation that directs the Subcommittee on Legislative Review and Interpretations to develop substitute language where appropriate for "amateur" and "amateurism" in the NCAA Manual. Both subcommittees and the cabinet at future meetings will review the alternative language.

    The cabinet heard a report from the Subcommittee on Initial Eligibility, which met with representatives of the Office for Civil Rights who support the use of English-as-second-language courses as core courses. The subcommittee also received an update on the ongoing discussion between the NCAA and the Department of Justice regarding accommodations for students with learning disabilities.

    The next meetings of the cabinet and its subcommittees are scheduled for June 3-4 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.