PHILADELPHIA– The Pac-12 Task Force, which was established last fall to make recommendations to clean up corruption in college recruiting, has sent a proposal to the NCAA commission on reform that includes new eligibility standards, calling for the NBA to end its so-called one-and-done rule requiring players to be a year removed from high school before entering the league and relaxing regulations barring contact with agents.
It also came down hard on the youth sports environment in which club sports have come to replace traditional high school competition ranging from basketball to soccer, baseball, lacrosse and 7 on 7 football. Those teams have no restrictions on length of season, number of games, amount of practice time and travel time and academics are often under emphasized.
The Pac 12 would like to limit the presence of shoe companies and eliminate the Nike, Adidas and Under Armour summer travel team circuits.
The Task Force has suggested that while participation in travel teams and tournaments is viewed as indispensable to obtaining a college scholarship, the exclusive focus on 5 on 5 games in summer has encouraged a selfish style of play and a sense of entitlement among players and their parents at the expense of fundamental skill development.
They also raised questions about the backgrounds and qualifications of non-scholastic league coaches, particularly when compared to high school coaches who may also be teachers. Many summer coaches are third parties who in some cases are chasing shoe contracts and coaching jobs at higher levels.
According to the Task Force, the the recruiting calendar, certification of non-institutional organized event, and rules governing on and off-campus recruiting of potential student athletes—including the regulation of campus visits and who pays for them under the control of the NCAA. The activities of shoe and apparel companies, youth leagues and coaches and non-scholastic event operators are not.
The NCAA, according to the Pac-10, should organize, possibly with USA Basketball and other appropriate organizations, regional summer events in July that incorporate important skill development, live games and educational components, as well as an opportunity for the young athlete to obtain an objective opinion regarding his potential as a professional or a scholarship player. Invitations to these events would be issued to individuals rather than travel teams.
It’s easy to point fingers at the shoe companies but it seems hypocritical when the same apparel companies heavily subsidize all 12 of the Pac-10 institutions. The Pac-12 has seven Nike sponsored schools—Oregon, Arizona, Stanford, USC, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State; four Under Armour sponsored schools—Cal, Colorado, Utah and UCLA; and one Adidas sponsored school, Arizona State. Adidas is also the chief sponsor of the Pac-12 network.
Academia is asking for authority over youth sports yet, in the past some of the conference schools haven’t been able to regulate themselves. Two of the four assistants arrested and indicted in the FBI investigation into corruption and bribery—Tony Brand from USC and Book Washington of Arizona — came from Pac-10 schools.
We wonder if the Pac-12 would be making such a big deal of this if the conference wasn’t getting beat at its own game. The Pac-12 had a miserable 1-8 bowl season and was 0 for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Just saying.
