Telephone Calls to Guidance Counselors for Academic Information (I)
Date Published: March 18, 2011
Type: Staff Interpretation
The academic and membership affairs staff determined that a telephone call to the appropriate academic authority at the prospective student-athlete's educational institution (e.g., registrar, guidance counselor) related to admissions or academic issues is not a recruiting coordination function provided there is no solicitation of the prospective student-athlete and nothing beyond the prospective student-athlete's academic qualifications is discussed. [References: NCAA Division I Bylaws 11.7.1.2 (recruiting coordination functions), 13.1.3.4.1 (institutional coaching staff members -- general rule) and 13.1.3.4.1.1 (exception -- prior to national letter of intent signing or other written commitment); official interpretations (10/12/1994, Item No. 9-d) and (12/15/1993, Item No. 6)]
Not only is it not a recruiting coordination function, but also:
(1) It's not a countable call (calls to folks like guidance counselors have never been countable),
(2) It can be placed before the typical starting point for phone calls has occurred (because the starting point only applies to countable calls), and
(3) It can be placed by someone other than a countable coach, such as a director of football operations (since it's not a recruiting coordination function).
This could turn into a bit of a monitoring nightmare since "nothing beyond the prospective student-athlete's academic qualifications" can be discussed on these calls. And we'll see how that all goes.