National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Management Council votes not to limit text messaging - related proposal referred
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By Michelle Brutlag Hosick
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
ORLANDO, Florida — The Division I Management Council defeated a proposal January 7 that would have set date and time limits on text messaging with prospective student-athletes, but another proposal eliminating all forms of electronic communication beyond e-mail and fax was sent to the membership for feedback.
The defeated proposal, sponsored by the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, would have restricted the hours during which coaches could send text messages to recruits and would have prohibited such activity before a prospect’s junior year.
Though the AEC-sponsored legislation was defeated, all options regarding text messaging remain on the table through the amendment process.
The proposals were the subject of discussions both at the Council meeting and during the legislative forum a day earlier. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee supports eliminating the practice.
Anna Chappell, Division I SAAC chair and former University of Arizona student-athlete, said text messaging was intrusive, unprofessional and costly for prospects and difficult to control for compliance officers.
“It’s new and it’s technically hip, but it’s not necessary,” Chappell said. “There are a lot of other ways to make a personal connection.”
During the January 6 forum, Tyler Kupper, a golf student-athlete from the University of Delaware, called the practice of coaches using text messaging for recruting “intrusive, impersonal and too costly” for 17-year-old prospective student-athletes. who in some cases purchase special phones or particular plans because of the messages they receive from college coaches.
Other Council members said they believed text messaging overloaded communication between coaches and recruits.
Carolyn Campbell McGovern, senior associate director of the Ivy Group, said though her conference sponsored the legislation, it is not convinced that total elimination is the right answer. She said she hoped the membership would discuss the issue further.
The Council forwarded 37 pieces of legislation to the Board of Directors for adoption. Most of the remaining proposals enter a comment period, including several dealing with printed recruiting material, the provision of meals to student-athletes and sports wagering.
In other business, the Council heard a report from its governance subcommittee about modifying the current governance structure. A preliminary recommendation would replace the Management Council with legislative and leadership councils and would break the two existing cabinets into six smaller, topical groups.
The subcommittee responded to concerns the Council had expressed regarding the diversity requirements within the new structure and the relationship between the two bodies proposed to replace the current Management Council.
Rich Ensor, chair of the subcommittee and commissioner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, said the subcommittee would recommend that the legislative and leadership councils be at the same level of the governance structure but have separate and distinct functions. The leadership council would be responsible for examining issues and assisting the Board of Directors in setting the division’s agenda. The legislative council would be responsible for considering legislation, subject to the oversight of the Board.
In considering the diversity requirements, which the group recommends be applied to the governance structure in aggregate so the overall structure reflects the diversity of the Division I membership, the subcommittee met with the chairs of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
The subcommittee’s plan would charge the Board with preventing a cabinet or council from being dominated by a single professional position, gender or ethnicity.
The subcommittee will consider the exact details of the appointment process, reporting lines and other specific requirements in future meetings. The group hopes to have initial recommendations to report to conferences at spring meetings.
January 5 and 7/Orlando, Florida
Heard an update on the new amateurism certification process, which began late last year. Institutions will be responsible for monitoring the amateurism of a prospective student-athlete from the date of final certification until the student-athlete enrolls. The earliest a prospect can have his or her amateurism certified is April 7 of his or her senior year in high school.
Heard student-athlete presentations regarding the Division I Regional Leadership Conferences. The student-athletes indicated that the conferences helped them to be less intimidated by their administrators and broke down communication barriers between the two groups, in addition to providing them with the tools to prevent conflict.
The defeated proposal, sponsored by the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, would have restricted the hours during which coaches could send text messages to recruits and would have prohibited such activity before a prospect’s junior year.
Though the AEC-sponsored legislation was defeated, all options regarding text messaging remain on the table through the amendment process.
The proposals were the subject of discussions both at the Council meeting and during the legislative forum a day earlier. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee supports eliminating the practice.
Anna Chappell, Division I SAAC chair and former University of Arizona student-athlete, said text messaging was intrusive, unprofessional and costly for prospects and difficult to control for compliance officers.
“It’s new and it’s technically hip, but it’s not necessary,” Chappell said. “There are a lot of other ways to make a personal connection.”
During the January 6 forum, Tyler Kupper, a golf student-athlete from the University of Delaware, called the practice of coaches using text messaging for recruting “intrusive, impersonal and too costly” for 17-year-old prospective student-athletes. who in some cases purchase special phones or particular plans because of the messages they receive from college coaches.
Other Council members said they believed text messaging overloaded communication between coaches and recruits.
Carolyn Campbell McGovern, senior associate director of the Ivy Group, said though her conference sponsored the legislation, it is not convinced that total elimination is the right answer. She said she hoped the membership would discuss the issue further.
The Council forwarded 37 pieces of legislation to the Board of Directors for adoption. Most of the remaining proposals enter a comment period, including several dealing with printed recruiting material, the provision of meals to student-athletes and sports wagering.
In other business, the Council heard a report from its governance subcommittee about modifying the current governance structure. A preliminary recommendation would replace the Management Council with legislative and leadership councils and would break the two existing cabinets into six smaller, topical groups.
The subcommittee responded to concerns the Council had expressed regarding the diversity requirements within the new structure and the relationship between the two bodies proposed to replace the current Management Council.
Rich Ensor, chair of the subcommittee and commissioner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, said the subcommittee would recommend that the legislative and leadership councils be at the same level of the governance structure but have separate and distinct functions. The leadership council would be responsible for examining issues and assisting the Board of Directors in setting the division’s agenda. The legislative council would be responsible for considering legislation, subject to the oversight of the Board.
In considering the diversity requirements, which the group recommends be applied to the governance structure in aggregate so the overall structure reflects the diversity of the Division I membership, the subcommittee met with the chairs of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
The subcommittee’s plan would charge the Board with preventing a cabinet or council from being dominated by a single professional position, gender or ethnicity.
The subcommittee will consider the exact details of the appointment process, reporting lines and other specific requirements in future meetings. The group hopes to have initial recommendations to report to conferences at spring meetings.
Other highlights
Division I Management CouncilJanuary 5 and 7/Orlando, Florida
Heard an update on the new amateurism certification process, which began late last year. Institutions will be responsible for monitoring the amateurism of a prospective student-athlete from the date of final certification until the student-athlete enrolls. The earliest a prospect can have his or her amateurism certified is April 7 of his or her senior year in high school.
Heard student-athlete presentations regarding the Division I Regional Leadership Conferences. The student-athletes indicated that the conferences helped them to be less intimidated by their administrators and broke down communication barriers between the two groups, in addition to providing them with the tools to prevent conflict.
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