BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told USA TODAY Sports the environment around satellite camps would be āhard to characterize as anything but a mess,ā according to feedback from coaches that was discussed this week by the NCAAās Football Oversight Committee for Div. 1.
However, Bowlsby said he isnāt sure whether legislative proposals to further regulate satellite camps will be ready to implement by next June.
āThere were all kinds of components of it that would not be what we would want to have as our recruiting environment,ā Bowlsby said Wednesday. āWe are at the point where thereās full acknowledgement that this isnāt about teaching football, itās about meeting players and meeting families and meeting middlemen. Itās all about the recruiting environment; itās not about camps anymore. So we need to deal with it on that basis.ā
In April, the NCAA board of directors overturned a ban on satellite camps that had been put in place a few weeks earlier following a vote by the Division I council. It was expected that the satellite camp issue, which rose to prominence due to Michigan coach Jim Harbaughās aggressive exploitation of the existing rules and the SECās desire to close the loophole nationwide, would be revisited as part of a larger look at the recruiting environment.
Coaches have been bracing for some regulations on satellite camps next year, as concerns have been raised about both the number of them schools are attending and gray areas in NCAA rules that have come up as a result.
But the process of addressing those issues and getting new legislation passed is complicated, and those recommendations may not be in place by 2017.
āWeāll find out,ā Bowlsby said. āWeāve got a lot of moving parts.ā
Beyond satellite camps, the Football Oversight Committee continued conversations on several other hot-button issues including player safety, the recruiting calendar and sideline technology but did not forward any specific proposals to the Div. I council.
Bowlsby said there was no traction on allowing schools to use helmet communication technology but that thereās a ādecent chanceā that a rule allowing digital technology for coaches in the press box would be allowed on a trial basis in 2017.
āItās not an easy rollout, and itās not easy to make it fair to everyone,ā Bowlsby said.
The Football Oversight Committee also established its competition committee headed by Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson that will āhave responsibility for playing rules and some elements of competitive safeguards that will interface with officiating and with some of the elements of that, game conduct and the like,ā Bowlsby said.
Though itās not part of the football committeeās work, Bowlsby said he was pleased with the progress made on a legislative solution to the issue of time demands for college athletes.
A statement released by the NCAA on Wednesday indicated that proposals were still being developed but highlighted some concepts that could be voted on at the NCAA convention in January. Essentially, the NCAA is trying to find ways to strengthen the current 20-hour limit for athletically-related activities and establish guidelines for off time both in and out of season.
Time demands has risen to the top of the priority list as the NCAA tries to guard against the image of being a semi-professional enterprise in the face of numerous lawsuits over its amateurism model.
NCAA Football Oversight chair calls satellite camps āa messā
However, Bowlsby said he isnāt sure whether legislative proposals to further regulate satellite camps will be ready to implement by next June.
āThere were all kinds of components of it that would not be what we would want to have as our recruiting environment,ā Bowlsby said Wednesday. āWe are at the point where thereās full acknowledgement that this isnāt about teaching football, itās about meeting players and meeting families and meeting middlemen. Itās all about the recruiting environment; itās not about camps anymore. So we need to deal with it on that basis.ā
In April, the NCAA board of directors overturned a ban on satellite camps that had been put in place a few weeks earlier following a vote by the Division I council. It was expected that the satellite camp issue, which rose to prominence due to Michigan coach Jim Harbaughās aggressive exploitation of the existing rules and the SECās desire to close the loophole nationwide, would be revisited as part of a larger look at the recruiting environment.
Coaches have been bracing for some regulations on satellite camps next year, as concerns have been raised about both the number of them schools are attending and gray areas in NCAA rules that have come up as a result.
But the process of addressing those issues and getting new legislation passed is complicated, and those recommendations may not be in place by 2017.
āWeāll find out,ā Bowlsby said. āWeāve got a lot of moving parts.ā
Beyond satellite camps, the Football Oversight Committee continued conversations on several other hot-button issues including player safety, the recruiting calendar and sideline technology but did not forward any specific proposals to the Div. I council.
Bowlsby said there was no traction on allowing schools to use helmet communication technology but that thereās a ādecent chanceā that a rule allowing digital technology for coaches in the press box would be allowed on a trial basis in 2017.
āItās not an easy rollout, and itās not easy to make it fair to everyone,ā Bowlsby said.
The Football Oversight Committee also established its competition committee headed by Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson that will āhave responsibility for playing rules and some elements of competitive safeguards that will interface with officiating and with some of the elements of that, game conduct and the like,ā Bowlsby said.
Though itās not part of the football committeeās work, Bowlsby said he was pleased with the progress made on a legislative solution to the issue of time demands for college athletes.
A statement released by the NCAA on Wednesday indicated that proposals were still being developed but highlighted some concepts that could be voted on at the NCAA convention in January. Essentially, the NCAA is trying to find ways to strengthen the current 20-hour limit for athletically-related activities and establish guidelines for off time both in and out of season.
Time demands has risen to the top of the priority list as the NCAA tries to guard against the image of being a semi-professional enterprise in the face of numerous lawsuits over its amateurism model.
NCAA Football Oversight chair calls satellite camps āa messā
