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Greetings from “Can’t Wait For Saturday,” your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He’ll give you his views each day on the game he loves.
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If the NCAA intends to set a get-tough tone against rules violators in the new era of college sports, it is off to a slow start.
On Thursday, Wisconsin was placed one one-year probation and fined a “staggering” $25,000 for impermissible phone calls to recruits.
Heck, coach Luke Fickell might had enough cash to cover the bill in his money clip. The one with the big red W on it.
Fickell and an assistant coach were banned from having recruiting contact next week. Not exactly throwing the book at them.
Wisconsin made close to 140 phone calls that weren’t allowed. That seems like a lot to me.
And I’m not sure how helpful those calls are when it comes to landing recruits.
I asked Belleville West prospect Nick Hankins on Wednesday to tell me his least favorite part of recruiting and he said the constant barrage of phone calls.
My guess, based on talking to the cornerback, is that less is more for the players. The hard-charging, relentless pursuit by staffs is often tuned out or — worse — used against a school.
To its credit, Wisconsin discovered the violations on its own and turned itself in the to the NCAA.
Self-policing is going to be critical for college sports moving forward. Without it the entire system could descend into chaos.
I don’t know if Wisconsin turned itself only because of the fear of what might happen if it didn’t or just its dedication to do the right thing.
Being a glass half-full guy, I’m …
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Publish date : 2025-06-14 14:47:00
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