Fans and members of the media used to be able to wander into Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoons in the fall and watch high school basketball recruits play in pick-up games with members of Kansas University’s team.
Not anymore.
The NCAA recently determined it was a violation if a school permitted a recruit to participate in pick-up games with spectators present during official visits.
It’s part of the NCAA’s renewed emphasis to “eliminate activities that create a sense of entitlement and celebrity status for prospects.”
“I think it’s a good rule. I think what it does is eliminates a lot of gray area,” KU coach Bill Self said. “For Kansas, where there is so much interest and media attention, a lot of times recruits’ visits can get blown out of proportion.
“What we’ll do is, if a recruit comes in and wants to play, and if it leaks out and fans and media happen to come to watch, we’ll ask them not to watch,” he added.
With NCAA sanctions as a possibility for violators, student managers and/or members of KU’s staff likely will have to patrol the building to make sure nobody eyes the pick-up action with prospects involved.
“I don’t think it’ll impact us negatively like some people think it will. I think we have enough things going on at Kansas that a pick-up game would not affect (a recruit’s visit) either way,” Self said.
Mid-major schools and major universities without great fan bases have complained that schools like KU have an advantage in recruiting when fans show up at pick-up games and cheer for the prospects.
School officials at basketball powers like KU have countered that they don’t publicize the times of the games or ask fans to show up — fans simply find out game times and attend on their own because of their great enthusiasm for the sport and their school.
“Five or six years ago the NCAA decided to allow recruits to participate in normal recreational activity on their campus visits,” KU senior associate athletic director Larry Keating explained. “In basketball they were allowed informal workouts with players. It’s become an openly publicized event in places (such as the Internet where fans post pick-up game times) and becomes a big event on campus.
“Universities are unable to control the publicity, so the only thing we can do is keep people out. It goes on at any school with great fans who will go out of their way to support a recruit.”
The NCAA has tackled the issue of recruits’ visits since last year’s scandal at Colorado in which recruits allegedly were taken to sex parties.
“The NCAA obviously has done some things positive to level the playing field, but there has been some very immediate reaction to negativity that’s existed in our profession over the last 12 to 18 months,” Self said.
“Since the Colorado situation, administrators have given a hard look to, ‘How can we eliminate potential problems?’ A lot of things they are doing are trying to eliminate potential problems.
“I’m not in favor of all the rules, like not flying kids in on private planes. I don’t think that’s a good rule. I will say a lot of people think that is a good rule. Of all the changes that are going to occur, I will not be happy with all of them across the board, but I, like all coaches, can be happy with the movement taking place. It may effect certain schools differently. Coaches understand some progress is made even if we don’t see every rule favoring us individually.”
The NCAA’s decision to not allow spectators at pick-up games is not a new rule, but a different interpretation of existing bylaw 13:11.4 which states, “A member institution shall not publicize (or arrange for publicity of) a prospect’s visit to campus. Further, a prospect may not participate in team activities that would make the public or media aware of the prospect’s visit to the institution (e.g. running out of the tunnel with team, celebratory walks to or around the stadium/arena, on field pregame celebrations).”
