It's no secret that recruitment in the NCAA is serious business, and for the most part, the success of a program depends on its ability to woo the nation's good high school players.
So, paradoxically and in contrast to such parity-friendly pro policies as an entry draft, schools that are good today have a head start on being good tomorrow. It therefore came as a surprise that UConn went from missing the national tournament in 2007 and losing in the first round in 2008, to making a breakout Final Four appearance in 2009. That type of turnaround is tough, to say the least, and their recruitment record came under scrutiny by the NCAA. This morning, the UConn Men's Basketball program, along with it's head coach Jim Calhoun, were cited for 8 infractions stemming from that behaviour.
Allegations include improper phone calls and text messages to recruits, and well as "giving recruits improper benefits and improperly distributing free tickets to high school coaches and others." Coach Calhoun himself was cited for "failing to promote and atmosphere of compliance [to NCAA regulations]."
"It's not exactly, certainly anywhere near the high point of my career, as a matter of fact it's certainly one of the lowest points at any time that you are accused of doing something," said Calhoun, who has led the Huskies since 1986. "It's a very serious matter."
The news out of UConn was accompanied by the forced resignation of two assistant coaches; Beau Archibald, Patrick Sellers. The two men are accused of lying to and misleading NCAA investigators, and along with three other Huskies staff members, were implicated in the 160 impermissible telephone calls and at least 191 impermissible text messages between recruits and coaches alleged in the recent release.
It's unclear as to what sort of consequence will be facing the organization. Rick Evrard, an attorney who counsels UConn on NCAA matters, suggests that in cases such as UConn's, penalties "most often affect recruiting and could include the loss of scholarships. They don't usually include a ban on postseason play or the forfeiting of any games when there was no competitive advantage obtained from the violations." The allegations will have no impact whatsoever on any of the school's other athletic departments, such as their outstanding, Women's Basketball program, but UConn as an institution was cited for "not adequately monitoring the conduct and administration of the men's basketball staff in the areas of: telephone records, representatives of the institution's athletics interests; and, complimentary admissions or discretionary tickets."
Recruitment regulations have always been skirted by coaches and teams whenever possible, and with so much money at stake (Calhoun was recently awarded a $13 M contract) the NCAA really has to make these allegations stick if they want anyone to play by the rules.
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