NCAA investigation into Florida is a serious joke

News broke last week that the NCAA is investigating Florida’s football program, probably over NIL violations that might have occurred in the fruitless pursuit of quarterback Jaden Rashada.

I’ve been trying to come up with a one-word description of the situation. “Picayune” came to mind since it means narrow and petty. But it also means trivial and unimportant.

This is serious business, so another word should do the trick:

Joke.

If you know about NIL, you had to double over when you heard NCAA sleuths were at it again. That doesn’t mean Florida didn’t break any rules. It means the NCAA guidebook is laughably detached from reality.

I challenge you to read these rules and not crack up.

“A booster or collection of boosters is not permitted to engage in recruiting activities, including recruiting conversations. When a booster’s interaction with a PSA (potential student-athlete) includes encouraging the PSA to attend an institution, NCAA rules have been violated.”

Or…

“NIL compensation may not be contingent upon enrollment at a particular school. In addition, NIL compensation may not be contingent upon residency in a certain location simply to circumvent this standard.”

That’s a pertinent one we’ll return to in a minute. For now, merely ponder what sort of parallel universe the NCAA is living in.

Does it really think booster collectives never engage in “recruiting conversations” or encourage recruits to attend a certain institution?

My guess is Tennessee’s collective did not give Nico Iamaleava an $8 million NIL deal to encourage the young QB to attend Georgia.

According to the NCAA, coaches and school staff members cannot have concrete conversations with collectives about a recruit’s value or facilitate any contact between the player and the collective.

Yeah, right.

Mess with Texas: Why the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa-investigation-florida-serious-joke-090402108.html

Author : The Gainesville Sun

Publish date : 2024-01-25 09:04:02

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