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On Monday, the NCAA released guidelines for booster involvement in Name, Image, and Likeness. In particular, the statement provides guardrails while universities recruit athletes around the country.
A point of contention in college athletics since last summer when the NCAA allowed collegiate athletes to make money off of their Name, Image, and Likness, the industry has gone widely unregulated, resulting in questionable recruiting methods. Although the rule allows athletes to put extra cash in their pockets, many local businesses around universities are attracting recruits by offering prospective athletes financial incentives if they attend their particular university.
The guidelines released earlier this week are a direct attempt to counter this method of recruiting. The statement not only defines these businesses and “collectives” and prohibits them from contacting prospective athletes but also states that the NCAA could pursue anyone who egregiously violated these guidelines in the past ten months.
“While the NCAA may pursue the most outrageous violations that were clearly contrary to the interim policy adopted last summer, our focus is on the future. The new guidance establishes a common set of expectations for the Division I institutions moving forward. The board expects all Division I institutions to follow our recruiting rules and operate within these reasonable expectations,” said Jere Morehead, the board chair and University of Georgia president.
While it appears that the NCAA intends to focus on the future, these guidelines come after division one sports have seen a record number of athletes enter the transfer portal within the past year. As of last week, an athlete could enter his name into the transfer portal simply because another university offered a much larger NIL package than they are currently receiving. Not only are these guidelines for recruits coming out of high school but also for universities looking to poach players from other schools.
Ultimately, the NCAA looks to shore up what is uncharted territory in college athletics.
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