Facing allegations of colleges wooing high school athletes with sex, alcohol and lavish accommodations, the NCAA told Congress on Thursday that it may ban paid campus visits for football recruits.
“We do not intend to go through another football recruiting season without new standards in place,” said David Berst, NCAA vice president and chairman of a task force on recruiting. “And when those standards are in place, violations will be investigated and adjudicated swiftly.”
Among sweeping changes being considered are requiring recruits to pay for their own visits, banning all off-campus entertainment and requiring recruits to stay in on-campus lodging.
Berst and Colorado University President Betsy Hoffman were among the witnesses who testified before a House subcommittee. Hoffman recently put Gary Barnett, her school’s head football coach, on paid administrative leave after reports of recruiting abuses and charges from a former kicker that she had been raped by one teammate and tormented by others.
Members of the energy and commerce subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection expressed shock and anger about this and other widely publicized charges at a number of schools.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), warned that the NCAA and its member universities must quickly clean up their practices or face federal intervention. Congress has a role in overseeing college athletics and the recruiting process, he said.
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Berst said most of the alleged recruiting abuses involve violations of existing NCAA regulations or criminal laws.
“There is no role for the NCAA in allegations of rape or other criminal activity,” he said. “Investigating such allegations rests entirely with law-enforcement agencies.
“[However,] the use of alcohol, drugs and sex as recruiting inducements cannot and will not be tolerated. NCAA recruiting rules presuppose that institutions will employ a level of common sense and common decency to guide behavior. It appears that this is no longer sufficient, and that the NCAA should act swiftly [to enact stronger standards].”
Currently, visiting football recruits are escorted by a student host, usually a member of the varsity team. But at some schools, witnesses told the committee, the hosts are attractive female students who take the recruits to off-campus parties.
Berst said current recruiting rules limit the student host’s spending on a recruit to $30 a day. Miami recruit Willie Williams and other high school football stars, however, have reported eating expensive meals, staying in plush hotels and going out to nightclubs during recruiting visits.
The NCAA is considering a number of other rules. They include prohibiting colleges from using non-commercial aircraft to fly in recruits and requiring prospects to be provided only on-campus meals in facilities used by the general student body.