Will Early Recruiting Be Eliminated?

An eighth-grade girls lacrosse player recently made a verbal commitment to Syracuse. Penn State recently received a verbal commitment from an eighth-grade boys lacrosse player. An eighth-grade girls soccer player recently committed to Texas. Arizona received a commitment from an eighth-grade softball player. An eighth-grade football player already has received offers from Alabama, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Iowa State and West Virginia.

The Ivy League has seen enough.

The prestigious, eight-member conference announced a set of proposals last week to limit the early recruitment of athletes for NCAA Division I sports.

Under the proposal, coaches would not be permitted to make verbal offers of financial aid or provide support in the admission process before Sept. 1 of a prospect’s junior year. In addition, coaches would be prohibited from initiating or receiving telephone calls, planning unofficial campus visits and speaking with prospects at camps and clinics before the junior year.

The proposal could be voted on by NCAA members as early as January.

“The pressure on prospective student-athletes to commit to a specific college earlier and earlier is a national issue,” Ivy League executive director Robin Harris said. “It causes stress for prospects and their families, as they are often asked to make a life-altering decision as high school freshmen or sophomores, and sometimes even before they have started high school.

“Our goals are to elevate the national conversation about the negative effects of early recruiting and to challenge the NCAA membership to change the culture of recruiting that forces prospective student-athletes to verbally commit before they are academically, athletically and emotionally ready to make their college choice.”

The NCAA already has rules prohibiting Division I coaches from initiating contact with prospects before Sept. 1 of their junior year. However, holes in those regulations have accelerated the recruiting process; enabled coaches to speak with prospects during camps, clinics and unofficial campus visits; and make non-binding verbal offers before the junior year.

“We’re trying to close those loopholes,” Harris said. “The current culture is putting more and more pressure on prospective athletes to commit because they’re talking to coaches and making unofficial visits earlier and earlier.

“You think about freshmen and sophomores and how much they still have to grow … and our concern is that prospects are making decisions they come to regret.”

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