NCAA Rule Shuts Down Auburn Football Recruiting Practices

Gene Chizik and staff have made quite an impression on high schools in Alabama.  The Auburn coaching staff has been driving around the state in limousines and luxery tour buses trying to persuade athletes to give Auburn another look.

A large number of teachers felt like the Auburn coaching staff was sending the wrong message to players.   The impression made was Auburn football players athletes get special priviledges.  The message was difficult for non-athletic students whose parents had suffered job losses and struggled to make ends meet.

Some administrators believed the integrity of higher education had been de-valued in the process.  Some said the recruitment of high school athletes should not be like an auction for the highest bidder.  In many ways, it was competition at its lowest level.

In their expensive vehicles, Auburn coaches hit nine Mobile high schools in one day. Many of the students felt like the tour bus caravan was a distraction for all the students, teachers and administrators because the Auburn coaches made sure everybody knew they were on campus. 

Since there was a tour bus on the school grounds and limousines parked in front with a bunch of coaches in Auburn clothing walking the hallways, kids were distracted.  The Auburn coaches wanted the attention.  But the adminstrators knew it was inappropriate and wrong.

The NCAA got enough complaints from parents that they had to step in.  The NCAA implemented a rule effective immediately that colleges could only send two coaches to a high school for the sole purpose of evaluation.  The rule change directly impacted the strategies used by the Auburn staff.

In the NCAA notes, there were references to limousines and extravagent buses used primarily for show which pointed directly at the Auburn coaching staff.  Coach Chizik has said he wanted to try things "out of the box" and the NCAA boldly replied "have some integrity and play by the rules."

The rule change by the NCAA signaled to the rest of the SEC teams that the governing body was making a stronger effort to enforce the recruiting rules on the books. 

In 2009, Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin and Auburn coach Gene Chizik presided over staffs that were constantly cited for "minor infractions" but carried no penalties.

Many journalist believe the "minor infractions" should carry a financial penalty for the coaches or it will be trampled on by coaches who believe their team should win at all costs.  The latest ruling should send a signal for coaches to play by the rules or suffer the embarrassment like Auburn is for disregarding the intent of the rule.

For now, the Tiger Prowl bus has been parked.  The Auburn coaching staff will have to come up with a new game plan.  And the NCAA moved college football one more step forward with a decisive move against a team clearly breaking the rules.