Signing letters half the story for recruits
By Mike Knobler
Cox News Service
ATLANTA — National Signing Day has become such a big deal that it has acquired capital letters, such a huge news event that it has spawned its own industry of football recruiting publications and Web sites.
However, the general public probably has no idea what is actually being signed.
A scholarship, most people would tell you, and that’s half right. But high school seniors nationwide will sign something else on Wednesday, too.
The document that makes national signing day like Christmas Day for college football fans and coaches is the National Letter of Intent, the pieces of paper that turn a wished-for prospect into a wrapped-up signee.
The letter of intent binds the player to the school he will attend and binds the school to the player. Until he signs it and sends it — usually by fax — to the university, he’s free to change his mind, no matter what he told his coaches, his parents, his girlfriend, his local newspaper or his dog. No “commitment “he made to any college coach commits him to anything until he signs and sends his letter of intent.
After signing and sending the letter, though, a player faces stiff penalties for changing his mind. He must attend that university for a full academic year or lose a year of eligibility and have to sit out a year before playing at another university.
You’d think such an important document would be well understood by everybody who follows college sports. It isn’t. The biggest misconception is that the player is getting a four-year guarantee from the university.
In fact, the school, like the player, is bound for just one year.
After that year, the player is free to transfer without losing eligibility and the school is free to revoke the scholarship. In fact, NCAA rules bar schools from offering players more than a one-year scholarship. That scholarship is renewable, but the renewal isn’t automatic.
It’s up to each school to set policies about which scholarships to renew.
Arlington, Texas, lineman Brad Sellers, who plans to sign with Georgia Tech, said the Yellow Jackets were up front with him.
“They said it’s a one-year scholarship, and they renew it every year as long as you work hard and don’t get in trouble with the law and your academics are good, “Sellers said, adding that Tech told him it doesn’t revoke scholarships from players who for some reason other than effort don’t pan out. “If you come in and you’re not all that, they’re not going to take it away from you, “he said.
Said Westlake linebacker Taalib Tucker, who also plans to sign with Tech: “I got a scholarship (offer) for a reason, so I’ve got to do my part.”
The notion that a coach or athletics director could decide a player isn’t doing his part makes some professors uncomfortable. The Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, a national group of university faculty members, wants to take the power to revoke athletics scholarships away from athletics departments.
“There are some schools where if the player is not performing up to standard or the player gets injured, we have heard scholarships are revoked, “said Nathan Tublitz, a University of Oregon neurobiology professor and member of the Coalition’s steering committee. “If there’s a question about renewing the scholarship, it should be decided by the chief academic officer.”
Other key facts about the letter of intent:
— It’s not an NCAA document, and it’s not enforced by the NCAA. Instead, it’s run by conference commissioners. Every Division I school participates in the letter of intent program except for the service academies, the Ivy League and some schools in the Patriot League. Every fully active Division II school participates, too.
— The letter of intent doesn’t guarantee admission. The letter becomes void if the admissions office rejects the player or the player fails to meet the NCAA academic requirements for financial aid.
— Once a player signs and sends a letter of intent, other schools are barred from trying to recruit him.
— A player can break his letter-of-intent commitment without penalty if he serves 18 months in the U.S. military or on an official church mission.
— The letter is binding from the moment a player sends it to a university. There’s a penalty for a signee who changes his mind, even if he never sets foot on the school’s campus.
“Some players think, ‘I didn’t go to school, so we don’t have a problem here.’ Unfortunately, they do have a problem, “said Torie Johnson, director of the National Letter of Intent program.
— You don’t have to sign a letter of intent to get a scholarship; signing one just guarantees you that one will be available if you qualify. One of the most famous examples of this is basketball player Chris Jackson, who later changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. His mother refused to sign his letter of intent because she didn’t want him to attend LSU. The letter is invalid without a parent’s signature. So Jackson never filed a letter of intent but still attended LSU on scholarship.
— Schools can release players from their letters of intent, as Georgia did after Dennis Felton replaced Jim Harrick as men’s basketball coach. But the decision is up to the school; a post-signing day coaching change doesn’t free a player from his letter.
— If a school won’t grant a release, a player can appeal to the National Letter of Intent steering committee. Appeals often are granted when there are significant unforeseen circumstances, such as the death of a parent or a financial hardship for a family, Johnson said.
Mike Knobler writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: [email protected]
Story Filed By Cox Newspapers
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