UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[Rocky Bleier]

Rocky: Got it. Thanks ... and LOL

:D

[Da Geezer]

Be a little careful with the "money-laundering" jargon. What AA is talking about is perfectly legal. As is a booster giving a kid a car, as long as the booster files a gift/estate tax on the car (if it is over $ 13,000 in value). Money laundering is taking illicit (meaning unreported) money and turning it into reported money. Presumably, the rich boosters have already paid taxes on the money (or don't want to put 10 years in prison in the hands of an 18-year-old football star).

My interest was piqued by my memory of Da'Shawn Hand's recruitment. I took this quote from the Wikipedia write-up about Hand

"Eyeing a civil engineering major, Hand cited Alabama's civil engineering program as one of the key reasons he decided to choose the Crimson Tide.[14]"

You can look up the ratings for engineering schools, and I know you will find that UM is ranked much higher than Alabama. By a lot. And all this was being played out in a series of articles in the WAPO.

I'd not have a problem with a kid saying "I'm going to make a lot more in 5 years playing DE in the NFL than I ever will being an engineer, and I want to maximize my chances by playing for the proven leader in getting men into the pros. I want to play for Alabama" No problem. But when a kid tries to tell me that education means a lot to him and he is picking Alabama for their engineering school, I smell a rat.

So I looked it up. UM is tied with Ga Tech, Purdue, and Illinois for 6th nationally. Alabama is 104th. I don't believe that Hand went to Alabama for their Civil Engineering Department.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings?int=a74509

[CGVT]

Maybe he figured he had the best chance of passing the classes? ;)

[AlabamAlum]

US News and WR rankings? Dear lord. That's the godwin of education arguments on the net.

I do know a bit about the gift card racket and boosters, liney. And make no mistake, there are M boosters doing the same. The real issue is ...does JH or NS know about it, condone it, and funnel kids in the "right" direction. In both cases, the answer is probably no.

[Kstat]

HS recruiting is so scummy. I don't know how anyone follows it without getting sick.

[hack]

Now, you can look up the ratings for engineering schools, and I know you will find that UM is ranked much higher than Alabama. By a lot. And all this was being played out in a series of articles in the WAPO.


I remember thinking to myself that it was pretty crappy reporting to not point out that obvious bit there.

[Da Geezer]

I do know a bit about the gift card racket and boosters, liney. And make no mistake, there are M boosters doing the same. The real issue is ...does JH or NS know about it, condone it, and funnel kids in the "right" direction. In both cases, the answer is probably no.

If this is going on, the best thing would be a federal law making it a crime. Just say it is illegal to give more than $ 50.00 in cash to a scholarship athlete under 21. This would set off a firestorm about racism, sectionalism, amateurism, and academic excellence. I happen to think that would be healthy. I'd like to know what the ACT/SAT scores are for various athletes (Corley comes to mind, Reese too). AA makes a valid point in saying that these rankings of institutions might be just wrong. That would be good to know. But mostly, I'd like to get a handle on the "scummy" practices we all know go on. College Football is a billion dollar business that uses tax dollars to operate, and I'd like to know where these tax dollars go.

I do not accept the fact that this goes on for all colleges, and that the determining fact is whether the coach knows, or should know, about the practices. The ambiguity of the process makes most folks view it as scummy.

Just remember that a hammer can score a 10 on the ACT, and a scholarship football player has to be 60% smarter than a hammer to qualify.

[AlabamAlum]

A federal law that you can't give gift cards to college kids who play sports?

And even if you did, how would you find out? Who would you go after? Evidence enough to even find out the guilty party would be pretty hard.

[Da Geezer]

A federal law that you can't give gift cards to college kids who play sports?

Yup. And those who know me on this forum know I dislike government in the extreme. But this is all tax money being used by the NCAA. If the NCAA won't enforce their rules, then the Justice Dept. could.

Assuming the penalty is being banned from all athletic events permanently, both for the student-athlete and for the booster, I think the first thing you would see is the cost of doing this shit go way up and not very many boosters taking part. If this is driven by ego, and I agree that it is, then imagine being banned for life from college sports. In this case, where there is no monetary benefit to the booster, I think a lot of boosters simply would not take the risk.

Next, you plant cooperating recruits. Pay them $ 25,000 per conviction. Or not. I wouldn't care. Make it a matter of honor. There is just a lot of difference between punishing the ego and punishing the pocketbook or incarceration. Do what the IRS does and bring in a few big cases during recruiting season. And, if I were writing the law, I'd fine the NCAA if there was any hint of cooperation with the boosters. Stopping the payment of certain athletes should not require the government, but the NCAA just looks the other way. AA, I'm sure you are right about Ole Miss. But certainly you know that folks in B10 country will always blame the SEC's dominance on cheating until there is some credible organization enforcing the rules. I actually think the persons who would hate this the most would be the 5* athletes. No more houses for Mom, no more cars.

"Everybody does it" is not a good enough reason to cheat. Eventually, you get to the point where cheating is no longer cheating. It is just "the way things are." It becomes a case of Defining Deviancy Down.

[AlabamAlum]

The point is, sure, make the law. There is no one to prosecute, though. You will not find them. Hell, the gift card thing has been going on for 15 years and many of you have never heard of it. The crooked booster has just eliminated the bagmen.

[jaadam4]

It's going to be a long off season

[WM Wolverine]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/4/10/5594348/college-football-bag-man-interview

Old article that's been brought up here before but it's relevant.

[WM Wolverine]

"We can only get away with whatever's considered reasonable by the majority of the folks in our society. That's why it's different in the SEC. Maybe that's why we're able to be more active in what we do."

[jaadam4]

Anyone know who was on the grassy knoll?

[lineygoblue]

Spiro Agnew.