TEXT MESSAGES AND THE NCAA:   THE PERFECT IS ENEMY TO THE GOOD

When a team isn’t winning, the most popular quarterback on the team is the back-up sitting on the bench.  Whatever the NCAA does, observers always see a different, more popular, option on the bench.  The latest example is the controversy over whether recruiting phone calls and text messages should be deregulated.

The NCAA ban on text messages had been widely and repeatedly criticized.  Examples:

·         On April 27, 2007 Ivan Maisel (ESPN.com) described the ban as “Score One for the Luddites,” saying that “most coaches” were dismayed at the 2007 action to ban text messages and that the American Football Coaches Association tried to get the NCAA to wait and hear from the coaches before implementing the ban. 

·         Others opposed to limits included Andy Staples (SI.com 7/20/2011); Rob Dauster (Inside College Basketball 6/15/2012); and Wade Neely (Clarksville Sports 6/1/6/2012).

The recent move to eliminate the ban and permit unlimited text messages (and also phone calls to recruits) after their sophomore year, is also widely criticized.  Examples:

·         College football coaches, including George O’Leary and Jumbo Fisher, opposed the new rule while collectively those in the Big Ten asked for a delay.

·         Others opposed to unlimited text messages and phone calls included Mitch Sherman (Recruiting Nation 1/22/2013); Mike Bianchi (Orlando Sentinel 2/7/2013); and Drew Sharp (Detroit Free Press 2/10/2013).

So, who’s right and who’s wrong?  Actually, both sides, and neither.  No solution is perfect.  Whatever policy the NCAA implements will have negative consequences.   My own view is that elimination is a very good idea.  But, whatever policy is in place, the more popular option continues to be the one on the bench.