Monday, September 28, 1998
Selling UCLA
REGULATIONS: Promises
of fame
and fortune play no part
in the NCAA’s recruiting regulations
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Mike Sondheimer is almost always bombarded with phone calls.
Whether he’s a social butterfly or not has nothing to do with it.
As UCLA associate athletic director and head of recruiting,
Sondheimer’s mouth is always on the move – from talking to coaches
about recruiting prospects to directing his staff about all the
organizing and paperwork that needs to be done.
He just got off the phone with some high school seniors who
wanted to know more about a home football game to which they were
invited as part of their recruiting visit. Football and basketball
games are big factors in persuading high school athletes to attend
UCLA.
The fall athletic season only recently started, but it’s a busy
time for recruiting.
"The process really begins around ninth or tenth grade,"
Sondheimer said. "We’ll send out biography sheets which they can
send back for us to put in our database."
Colleges can’t actually send recruiting letters until September
of the eleventh grade. The NCAA allows mail, fax and e-mail to be
sent after that point, but prohibits colleges from calling until
July 1 of the student’s senior year.
Home visits are regulated according to sports. For example,
basketball coaches had twenty days in September to make their
visits.
High school students are allowed five all-expense paid visits to
colleges. Most colleges, like UCLA, invite them in the fall, since
November is one of the busiest signing months.
To prepare for these recruiting trips, the recruiting department
makes sure student transcripts and test scores are on file as
mandated by the NCAA, and that campus visits are organized to match
students’ interests.
"Most students, about 80 percent, make up their mind by
Thanksgiving," Sondheimer said. "Since football’s signing date is
in February, they make up their mind by Christmas."
The third signing date, in April, is mostly for last-minute
decision makers and athletes who need to raise their academic
standing, but the bulk of selling UCLA to potential Bruin athletes
occurs in the fall.
UCLA recruiters have several angles to convince their prospects
to become Bruins. One that takes care of itself is the success
record and popularity of various sports. They can also emphasize
the large number of professional athletes and Olympians who have
participated in their athletic program.
Another factor is UCLA’s academic reputation. A variety of
renowned professional and graduate schools as well as the
university’s undergraduate program are additional points of
persuasion.
"We really believe no one can beat us when you combine athletic,
academic and social aspects," Sondheimer said.
"And that’s what we’re trying to sell in our program, whether
it’s through the media guides, videos – anything we can use to
showcase UCLA in a positive way.
"On official visits," Sondheimer said, "we can ‘wine and dine’
them for 48 hours. We can take them to a nice restaurant, even to a
hotel, but most students stay in the dorms to get a feel of dorm
life."
This year several UCLA sports teams brought in highly ranked
recruiting classes. Baseball, women’s gymnastics and men’s
volleyball are among the top five in the nation, while the women’s
water polo and volleyball recruits are ranked No. 2 nationally.
Four sports – women’s track and field, men’s water polo,
football and men’s basketball – are rated No. 1 in recruits.
Recruiting success may breed rumors of highly sought-after
recruits being lured to a university with inducements such as cars
and money.
Actually, UCLA has maintained a relatively clean record.
The school’s most highly publicized recruiting violation in
recent years was that made by former UCLA basketball coach Jim
Harrick, when he allowed an uneven ratio of UCLA athletes to high
school prospects during a recruiting dinner.
The violation itself was minor, but the fact that he denied it
spurred a media frenzy and eventually led to his termination.
"Almost every recruiting violation I’ve seen (at UCLA) is an
inadvertent error," said Rich Herczog, UCLA athletics director of
compliance.
"You can generally determine it’s not because the coaches were
trying to get a competitive advantage, but as a result of poor
bookkeeping."
As compliance director, Herczog’s duty is to guide athletic
programs within the boundaries of NCAA rules. A part of that is
educating coaches, staff and athletes about those rules and
reporting violations.
Some recruiting violations made by UCLA coaches include making
extraneous phone calls to prospects and miscalculation of amount
spent during a recruiting visit. But Herczog said there hasn’t been
a situation where a recruit was offered any form of inducement.
To make sure a major violation isn’t made, such as a college
athletic program giving a car to one of its athletes, Herczog said
documents such as vehicle information and parking permit
applications are cross checked for inconsistencies. And by
regularly educating coaches and athletes about what can and what
can’t be done, compliance directors attempt to prevent mishaps.
"We are briefed and given tests to make sure we are up to date
on the NCAA rules," UCLA men’s basketball head coach Steve Lavin
said. "As staff, we are constantly getting updates on new rules and
regulations."
High profile sports such as basketball are under the attentive
eyes and ears of media and fans, not to mention layers of
organizations and administrators.
Even with such scrutiny, there is no foolproof way of
determining whether a program is sneaking out of guidelines.
So it all boils down to one’s morals.
"Coaches will be faced with difficult decisions," Lavin said,
"and ultimately it’s their integrity and value system that will
determine whether or not they make ethical choices."
As for UCLA, Lavin assures that the basketball program is
careful about following NCAA guidelines and signs its recruits
through good networking, not through inducements.
"Our staff works very hard in recruiting," Lavin said. "When
recruiting dates allow it, Michael Holton, Jim Saia and myself are
constantly on the road, watching the best players, talking to their
coaches and trying our best to convince these great players that
UCLA is the perfect fit for them."
Recruiting is a game in itself. Teams are competing to get the
best athlete, the biggest prize. Fair play is an etiquette that
might have been ignored by some programs, but it hasn’t hurt
Lavin’s team one bit to honor it.
"We abided by the rules, and last year we achieved the nation’s
No. 2 recruiting class," he said. "And this season we took it a
notch higher by bringing the No. 1 freshman contingent.
"UCLA has the ability as an institution to attract the highest
level of achievers both academically and athletically. It’s our
coaching staff’s job to present the university’s strengths in an
informative, effective and creative manner. We sell UCLA, abide by
the rules, work hard, and get results."
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