(We made a list. We checked it twice. From now until New Year’s Eve, we are counting down the top ten headlines of 2018. Today, we look at #3 on our list.)
3. Recruiting rules change, tighten
As 11- and 12-year-old players announcing college commitments became more and more frequent, calls for change in the recruiting world increased with fervor.
In April, those calls were answered when the NCAA Division I council passed legislation eliminating any contact with a potential recruit until September 1st of the athlete’s junior year in high school.
A drastic move, and in sharp contrast to the game’s trend to that point, the new rules applied not only to newly-identified recruits, but even to those who may have already committed to the school. Effective immediately upon the rule’s adoption, coaches were not allowed to have any contact with even committed recruits until the September 1st date in the athlete’s junior year.
Though the rule had long been clamored for, it was met with mixed reactions. While many applauded the proactiveness to effect change, some saw the rule as being “too far” in the opposite direction.
In large part, though, the new rules were met with much praise from coaches across the nation, as they were widely regarded as a much-needed solution to a rampant and growing problem.
In a recent interview with JWOS correspondent Lee Dobbins, Arizona head coach Mike Candrea gave his thoughts on the rule change: “I have lived through a circle of recruiting that began with student-athletes making a final decision their senior year after their official visit, to watching eighth graders pick the college of their choice before sometimes choosing their high school, to finally getting some order back with today’s recruiting rules. It was very tough for me to project whether a kid in 8th grade was going to be a great college softball player and basically whether they would continue to improve their skill set and game maturity to play at the highest levels… Today’s rule, I feel, allows our young players to develop and mature without the pressures of the early commitment.”
