Signs O' The Times

Nope, not channeling the purple one here, just finishing up the recruiting series.

Since we last talked, the NCAA has decided that it's important to indicate that 7th graders are now officially potential student athletes in basketball. That means that some idiot is pursuing kids who are 12-13 years old to help his program in the future. Wonder who that could be...

Today is National Signing Day- the day that high school athletes sign the letters of intent that will bind them to their colleges of choice (unlike their coaches, who can go where ever they want when ever they want).

This is the day that coaches know for sure who will be joining their team- who was being honest with their verbal commitments, and who has chosen to go elsewhere.

But as Scout, Rivals, and others celebrate this day that legitimizes their existence, let me offer a cold bucket of reality. First, a reminder: These are kids who are choosing to go to college to (allegedly) get their education.

Although, the standards by which they are admitted are different than everyone else. While more and more schools brag about their "selectivity" (how high the scores/GPAs of their incoming classes are), NCAA Football powers continually bring people to the academic community whose scores are much lower than the rest of their cohort. Often, there are even attempts to get around the NCAA minimum standard for admittance- yup, there are 3.9 GPA students who don't receive the fat envelope while kids with 820 SATs are given full rides.

Well, once there they still have to make the grades, right? Sure, sort of. Often times, athletes are funneled to specific majors in order to help them maintain eligibility. Sure, there are some exceptions, but it seems that a student's development outside of the field/court is not as important as it could be.

And, to top it all off, the graduation rates (while improving) are still no where near the level that they should be, especially for programs that pride themselves on academic excellence. Sure would make the BCS more interesting if the classroom would factor into the equation...

There will be a lot of celebration today, and rightfully so. For some of these young men, this is the chance of a lifetime.

My hope is that they will find ways to make the most of it, in spite of of some overwhelming odds- potentially being unprepared for academic life, having people invest in them only due to sports, living in a culture who won't celebrate just as much when/if they get their degree.

But those are the times we live in.

The Road To Perdition

Continuing our conversation about recruiting, especially after Saturday's Army All American Bowl.

We've already talked about how strange all of the attention that these young adults receive can seem, but that's just the beginning. There's the recruiting process, facilitated by the Universities themselves (or their representatives).

If you've watched any cheesy movies from the 80's or 90's, some of this might sound familiar to you. For me, this issues is one of ways I got introduced/interested in big-time college sports: before beginning my Master's program in Lexington, I read Raw Recruits (re: the Kentucky scandal). Granted, that was about basketball, but it changed the way I look at athletics.

And, unfortunately, it's still a part of the process many places. Let's look at a few examples:

• Willie Williams was a highly touted athlete from Miami, who in 2004 kept a diary of his recruiting visits. Some of the things included: Lobster, steak, private jets, nightclub visits, cheerleaders.
• Oregon's 2004 treatment of their recruits was so extravagant that it made the NCAA change it's protocol. Again, private jets and lobster make an appearance.
• This past week, news regarding Jamarkus McFarland's process (which included U$C, LSU, and primarily Texas and OU) emerged. Female hostesses, Hummer limos, daily contact, wild parties and allegations of underaged drinking and drug usage seemed to be a part of his experience.

Seems pretty obvious what the values being exemplified here are. Remember, these are 17 and 18 year old young men, being courted by institutions of higher education. Places where young adults are supposed to be developed in ways that will make them better people, not just use them to further the interests of fans and coaches. Places where "learning" is supposed to be preeminent- What do you think each of these young men learned from these experiences?

While it may be that these are all isolated situations, it's seems that turning young adults into a commodity may be an issue even at those places where nothing of this sort has appeared. For instance, two well known institutions have recently taken more commitments from recruits than they appeared to have openings for- are the opportunities valid, or will they come at the expense of another young adult who no longer serves the program?

We'll wrap this up next with an overview of what College is supposed to be about, and if these young adults are benefiting in this way.

The Games Before the Games

I work at an institution of Higher Education, and I love college sports. Even so, sometimes I have to remind myself that these two things interact quite frequently.

It's easy to forget that the huge, fast, amazing athletes we see on the picture box are also 20 year old young men who are still maturing and learning what it means to be an adult. And while they are recipeints of a great opportunity, they also are challenged by the pressure of balancing a college experience with a full time job preparing to perform on the field. Add this to the idol worship and the pressure that comes with being a BMOC, and it amazing that there aren't more instances where an athlete snaps.

I also find myself troubled by the attention that we in American culture pay to young adults; and not just those who run a sub 4.6 40 yard dash. We spend inordinate amounts of time watching Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Jonas Brothers, or Miley Cyrus rocket to fame and then burn out, and that's a bit odd. Again, these are not even college students when they show up on our radar- they're kids. With our infatuation with youth culture, it's no wonder that shows like "To Catch A Predator" are necessary.

I bring this up because this weekend sees the big High School All Star football games: the Army All American Bowl (on NBC) and the Under Armour Game (on ESPN). While I will watch, and am interested in some of the in-game annoucements that recruits will make, there's something about the whole process.

There are whole institutions and organizations dedicated to watching and grading 15, 16, and 17 year olds as they perform athletically, and some of the verbiage used ("fluid hips", "great hands", "solid lower body") would interest Chris Hansen. Another aspect of this industry is having the "experts" call, email, text message, and interview these young men about their college choices.

Please hear me correctly- I do not think that anyone involved in the recruiting tracking process is doing it for the wrong reasons. I just wonder about the bigger picture: these folks are providing a service, and there are people who are willing to pay for this information. And that's what is a bit odd- that there is a market for this information, that there are people around the counntry who are that interested in 15-17 year olds that they probably haven't met or ever will meet. For the record- I can name the 5-6 recruits that Ohio State is still strongly pursuing, so I'm in this boat as well.

I'll be following up on this with some perspective about the means that colleges will take to be sure they win these "recruiting wars", as well as a look at some of the "results" that we see from this process.