NCAA Hot Topic #8
Involvement of Athletics Department Staff Members with Scouting Services (I)
8/24/2004 -Institutions should note that Bylaw 11.3.2.5 (Recruiting Services Consultants) states that institutional athletics department staff members may not serve as consultants or participate on advisory panels for any recruiting or scouting service. This bylaw is intended to promote equity in the recruiting process by eliminating any recruiting advantage that may be gained by a coach or other athletics staff members who may otherwise be involved in some manner with a recruiting or scouting service. Generally, any service that provides information about prospective student-athletes to college coaches is considered a recruiting or scouting service for purposes of applying NCAA legislation. Therefore, coaches and other athletics department staff members cannot be involved with recruiting or scouting services or any third-party organizations (e.g. coaches associations, administrator organizations, etc) that operate, endorse or are affiliated with a recruiting or scouting service. For example, a coach may not be a member of a coaches association if that association, directly or indirectly sponsors, operates, or is affiliated with a recruiting or scouting service, even if he or she is not directly consulted about the recruiting or scouting services operations.
