Back when I was 13, life was much simpler. I was in seventh grade, I had recess every day, and a two-page paper was my idea of a hefty workload.
I certainly wasn’t thinking about college. Ironically enough, the only schools that had briefly entered my mind were quickly crossed off five years later: Stanford (too difficult to get into) and Michigan (too lame).
The point is at that age, college seemed worlds away to me. That’s why I was both astonished and horrified when I read about 13-year-old David Sills committing to USC this past week.
Now, I’ll admit that comparing Sills to myself is a bit problematic. Unlike Sills, I have never been a blue chip recruit with a rocket arm (though I did think highly of my skills at cornerback during pickup games). Honestly, the only competitive football I’ve ever played
involved flags.
But that’s not the point. Any sane person would admit that 13 years is not nearly old enough to make a decision about something as important as a college education. Sills called USC a “dream school.” Well, who’s to say it will be his dream school five years from now? Besides, we all know Lane Kiffin will leave USC long before Sills gets there.
This story only further proves the sad reality that college recruiting is completely out of control. Kiffin’s latest stunt may well be the low point of a career’s worth of seediness (yes, a career’s worth, despite the fact that he is only 34). As soon as he got to USC (after unceremoniously ditching Tennessee), he tried to steal offensive coordinator Norm Chow away from UCLA. In his one year at Tennessee, he accused Urban Meyer of recruiting violations (which itself is a violation). He also reportedly sent “hostesses” to visit potential recruits, essentially using sex to attract them to his school. Though Kiffin is undoubtedly one of the worst of the bunch, the NCAA is filled with coaches who know no boundaries.
The overriding point, and the reason this will continue to happen over and over again, is that the NCAA has failed miserably in putting a stop to this mess.
Take, for example, the case of Kelvin Sampson. Sampson is the former head coach of formidable basketball programs such as Indiana and Oklahoma. Pretty much everywhere he has gone, he has left the school’s reputation in ruins. At Oklahoma, he and his assistants were found to have made over 550 unauthorized calls to 17 different recruits. His punishment? He was barred from recruiting for one year. That’ll show him.
Despite his transgressions, Sampson was quickly hired by Indiana after leaving the Sooners. There, he continued to blatantly ignore the rules and got caught in a very ugly scandal that resulted in his resignation. Now, the NCAA would have to step up, right?
Well, according to espn.com, they did. A headline on their story read: “Sampson receives NCAA’s harshest penalty.”
So what did they do? They banned him from coaching for five years. That might sound like a lot, but consider that Sampson is 54 years old. In 2013, he could conceivably return and coach for many more years. Hell, Joe Paterno is 83 going on 183, and he’s still manning the sidelines.
So let’s say Sampson returns, perhaps to coach Kentucky after John Calipari inevitably has his entire career vacated after repeated violations. What do you think he’s going to do? More than likely, the same things he has pulled his entire career. Given the NCAA’s tepid response to cheating, why would he change?
If the NCAA wants to be taken seriously, it needs to reevaluate their priorities. There is no doubt that the college game is as popular as ever. Indeed, I am watching the Ducks get pummeled as I write this very sentence. But I’m tired of watching coaches get away with repeated violations with just a slap on the wrist.
Would it be so hard for the NCAA to adopt a “three strikes” policy? If a coach violates recruiting rules three times, he or she should be banned for life. Really, if you ignore regulations three different times, you have no business coaching 18-year-olds. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, this will probably never happen. In college sports, honesty and
integrity appear to be optional.
Back to Sills for a minute. It should be pointed out that Kiffin technically broke no rules in recruiting this kid. But in a way, that should tell you everything you need to know about the NCAA. If harassing a seventh-grader isn’t off limits, what is?
I have to wonder, what’s next? Will Kiffin try to recruit Matt Leinart’s next love child at birth? With the NCAA turning a blind eye, all bets are off.
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