Commentary

Big Ten upset at SEC over visits rule

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema speaks to reporters during a news conference Monday, March 27, 2017, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema speaks to reporters during a news conference Monday, March 27, 2017, in Fayetteville.

The Big Ten likes to expand. We all know that.

But even if you believe the conference of Bo and Woody should have stopped at 11 -- or 12 -- you can't fault it for this expansion goal.

The Big Ten wants to expand the window of time high school football prospects can take official (i.e. expenses-paid) visits to campuses all over America. Currently, an athlete has to wait until Sept. 1 of his senior season to take a paid visit.

By then, many prospects already have given a verbal commitment. (And in some cases, a decommitment and recommitment.) Many schools have filled their needs at certain positions by the fall. And, hey, it's high school football season, so weekends can get a little busy.

The Big Ten wants to allow high school juniors to take official visits in April, May and June -- a stretch during which regular students also frequently visit colleges.

A vote on this, as part of a comprehensive package of football recruiting reforms, is expected to take place today in Indianapolis by the NCAA Division I Council.

Also included in the proposal: adding a December signing day, so committed players won't get bombarded by other schools wanting them to "flip" them before February; reducing satellite camps (aka the Jim Harbaugh Rule); adding a 10th full-time assistant coach; and disallowing programs to hire an IAWP (Individual Associated With Prospect) after landing said prospect.

The conferences appear to have found consensus on all of the above -- except for adding April-June official visits. The SEC and other leagues in the South are reluctant to sign off on the change.

It's obvious why: College football's ruling class longs to protect its turf. Those coaches don't want prospects from the South visiting Big Ten campuses when the weather is nice.

They have proposed an amendment that would limit spring official visits to April, a month already congested by ACT exams and Easter. There's almost no way a prospect could use all five of his official visits in April.

It's easy for prospects from, say, Atlanta, to take unofficial visits to Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and ACC schools such as Georgia Tech and Clemson in the spring. Not so much to Penn State and Nebraska, especially if the prospect and his family have limited means and cannot afford to fly.

"It's like Trump," one Big Ten official said. "Except the SEC wants to build a giant wall around the Southeast."

The SEC's justification for its stance is what really has Big Ten coaches steaming -- academics.

"It's a joke," one Big Ten coach said.

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema, in an interview with the Tribune, said it's no joke.

"The North wants recruiting and signing day to move up," he said. "I get it. But on the same account, you'd have kids potentially not focusing on getting good grades to end the school year, and to me that's really dangerous."

Bielema said some high school freshmen don't think enough about the importance of their transcripts and need strong performances as juniors to get their grades up and qualify for a scholarship. He said a "good middle ground" might be to allow official visits in June, once the academic year is complete.

Bielema mentioned that if the desire is there, many kids do find a way to take unofficial visits as juniors.

"A busload of 20 kids from Michigan came through and visited us, Missouri, Alabama and Auburn," he said.

The Big Ten sees this as simple: Does college football want to help prospects by permitting them to take paid visits in the spring, allowing them to make more informed decisions?

"The bottom line," one Big Ten coach said, "is that the SEC doesn't want change. If it's not good for their league, they will fight it."

Sports on 04/14/2017

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