Quiz me this?

[redincolorado]

Why are coaches forbidden to comment on walk ons? What is the logic behind this decision?

[BearClause]

I don't get the question. There are conditions where a coach can comment about walk-ons.

A coach can make public comments about walk-ons once they're on a team. A coach can talk about commited recruits once they've returned a National Letter of Intent (requires a scholarship offer) or when they've signed and returned a written offer of admission and/or scholarship offer. Obviously the NLI doesn't apply to walk-ons, but I have heard of coaches commenting on the future contributions of walk-ons once the latter has occured.

[chiwoj85]

I understand what red is saying. An example I have, it's not volleyball, but a walk-on situation. Michael Jordan's son, Jeffrey, is walking on at the University of Illinois instead of accepting a scholarship to Valpo. Coach Weber, however, said that he can't comment on walk-ons until they are officially enrolled in school. Is there a difference b/w volleyball and basketball?

[BearClause]

chiwoj85 said:

I understand what red is saying. An example I have, it's not volleyball, but a walk-on situation. Michael Jordan's son, Jeffrey, is walking on at the University of Illinois instead of accepting a scholarship to Valpo. Coach Weber, however, said that he can't comment on walk-ons until they are officially enrolled in school. Is there a difference b/w volleyball and basketball?

13.10.2 Comments Before Signing. Before the signing of a prospective student-athlete to a National Letter of Intent or an institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid, a member institution may comment publicly only to the extent of confirming its recruitment of the prospective student-athlete. The institution may not comment generally about the prospective student-athlete’s ability or the contribution that the prospective student-athlete might make to the institution's team; further, the institution is precluded from commenting in any manner as to the likelihood of the prospective student-athlete's signing with that institution. Violations of this bylaw do not affect a prospective student-athlete's eligibility and are considered institutional violations per Constitution 2.8.1. (Revised: 1/14/97)

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What this means is that verbal commitments can't be publicly confirmed by any member of an athletic department. The NLI signing is the typical time where comments about a recruit are first made. Of course it doesn't apply to anyone who enrolls in college (including early enrollees); that's when the definition of "prospective student-athlete" ends. Here's a late May 2006 media release commenting about Cal's Fall recruiting class. It includes the mention of three walk-on players who obviously hadn't enrolled yet, but had returned signed offers of written admission.

calbears.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/053106aaa.html

[ladeda]

redincolorado said:

Why are coaches forbidden to comment on walk ons? What is the logic behind this decision?

No comment

[BearClause]

This Fresno State media release likely refers to at least some walk-ons. Only one of the five players mentioned is said to have signed a National Letter of Intent.

gobulldogs.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/050907aae.html

Fresno State volleyball has announced that five high school seniors have accepted the institution's offer of admission.