Big East calls for NCAA to spread the wealth (ahem, cream cheese)


Yahoo - Hoping to correct one of the NCAA rulebook’s great injustices, the Big East has proposed a rule change that could go into effect as soon as next August.

No, the conference isn’t pushing for more consistent penalties for programs guilty of major violations or a later early entry decision date for potential NBA draft prospects. The Big East simply wants to ensure its student-athletes no longer have to endure post-workout dry mouth as a result of eating complimentary bagels with no spread. Proposal No. 2011-78 would permit institutions to offer spreads such as “butter, peanut butter, jelly and cream cheese” with bagels they already may provide to student-athletes at any time. Believe it or not, current NCAA legislation enacted in 2009 only allows schools to provide bagels, fruits and nuts to student-athletes, which means that a complimentary butter or jam packet would be a minor violation.


That it would take a BCS powerhouse to submit a formal proposal allowing kids to put cream cheese on their bagels speaks volumes about the state of the NCAA today. As if the University of Miami scandal wasn’t enough of a black eye.  What’s next, a hearing by the infractions subcommittee to prohibit the bagel from being toasted?


Change in Official Visit Rules for D2

In January 2011, new legislation was passed to allow prospective student-athletes to take official visits to an UNLIMITED number of Division 2 schools. The new rule effective several weeks ago (Aug. 1 ), is a significant change to the previous NCAA recruiting bylaws which limited the number of official visits a recruit may take between both Division 1 and 2 schools to five (5). This new rule now gives prospective student-athletes ample more flexibility to visit more college campuses, while not having to incur any of the cost. For more information on official vs. unofficial visits, see below:

An Official visit is a prospective student-athlete’s visit to a college campus paid for by the college. The college can pay for transportation to and from the college, room and meals (three per day) while visiting and reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest.

Unofficial visit is any visit by a prospective student-athlete and their parents to a college campus paid for by the prospective student athlete or the prospect’s parents. The only expense the prospective student-athlete can receive from the college is three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. The prospect may make as many visits as he or she likes and may take the visits at any time. The only time the prospective student-athlete cannot talk with a coach during an unofficial visit is during a dead period.

College coaches turn to Facebook, Twitter to land recruits


“It’s probably the only way to communicate with recruits,” says West Virginia football coach, Dana Holgorsen, when asked about Facebook and recruiting.

Like it or not, Facebook & Twitter now account for 50% of college recruiting interaction between coaches and recruits.

Coaches and experts agree that the increasing use of social media is indicative of communication trends, as voice mail is considered superfluous, e-mail is passé and phone conversations are often clipped and awkward.