Recruitment regualtions what schools break rules?

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Justices uphold high school anti-recruiting rule
By David G. Savage, Times Staff Writers and Eric Sondheimer, Times Staff Writers|June 22, 2007
WASHINGTON — High schools with big-time sports ambitions were dealt a setback Thursday when the Supreme Court upheld a rule that forbids coaches from recruiting young athletes.

In a 9-0 decision, the justices said the 1st Amendment's guarantee of free speech does not shield coaches who ignore the rules of fair competition by contacting students and encouraging them to enroll in their school.

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Policy

POLICY 38
Policy on Athletic Recruiting
The FHSAA Board of Directors has established the following policy with regard to the recruiting of students for athletic
purposes by member schools:
1.0 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1.1 Athletic Recruiting Forbidden. Athletic recruiting is a gross violation of the spirit and philosophy of educational
athletics. Athletic recruiting is unethical and unsporting conduct, and is forbidden by FHSAA Bylaws (FHSAA Bylaw
7.6.1).
1.2 Scope of School’s Responsibility. A school’s responsibility for the conduct of its interscholastic athletic program
includes responsibility for:
(a) The acts of any employee or athletic department staff member;
(b) The acts of an independent person, business or organization that is a representative of the school’s athletic interests
when a member of the school’s administration or athletic department staff knows or should know that the person,
business or organization is promoting the school’s interscholastic athletic program; and
(c) The acts of any other independent person, business or organization acting at the request, direction, or otherwise
on behalf of any employee or representative of the school’s athletic interests.
1.3 Compliance Programs. Schools are expected to educate all employees, athletic department staff members and
representatives of the school’s athletic interests about acts that are prohibited by this policy. Schools must immediately
report to the FHSAA Office such impermissible acts when they are discovered to have occurred.
1.4 Academic Recruitment Permissible. A school may conduct an academic recruitment program that is designed
to attract students to the school based upon its total educational and extracurricular (athletic and activities) program. A
school must not use an academic recruitment program as a disguise for athletic recruiting.
1.5 Financial Assistance Permissible. Private schools, as well as developmental research schools operated by
state universities, may administer school-based financial assistance programs for students who attend those schools. Financial
assistance must be totally unrelated to a student’s athletic interest, potential or performance. Financial assistance based
even partially on a student’s athletic interest, potential or performance is not permitted.
1.6 Extra Benefit. Student-athletes must not receive extra benefits, which are benefits that are not offered or generally
made available to all other students in the school.
1.7 Eligibility Effect of Violation. A student who is found to have been athletically recruited or is found to have received
an impermissible benefit will be ineligible for interscholastic athletic competition for one or more years at the school
to which the student was athletically recruited or at which he/she received the impermissible benefit, and may be declared
ineligible for interscholastic athletic competition at all member schools for one or more years.
2.0 GENERAL DEFINITIONS
2.1 Athletic Recruiting. “Athletic recruiting” is any effort by a school employee, athletic department staff member,
or representative of a school’s athletic interests to pressure, urge or entice a student to attend that school for the purpose of
participating in interscholastic athletics.
2.1.1 Representative of a School’s Athletic Interests. “Representative of a school’s athletic interests” refers
to any independent person, business or organization that participates in, assists with, and/or promotes that school’s
interscholastic athletic program. This includes:
(a) A student-athlete or other student participant in the athletic program, such as a team manager, student trainer,
etc., at that school;
(b) The parents, guardians or other family members of a student-athlete or other student participant in the athletic
program at that school;
(c) Relatives of a coach or other member of the athletic department staff at that school;
(d) A volunteer worker in that school or that school’s athletic program;
(e) An athletic booster organization of that school;
(f) A member of an athletic booster organization of that school;
(g) A person, business or organization that makes financial or in-kind contributions to the athletic department or
to an athletic booster organization of that school; and
(h) Any other person, business or organization that is otherwise involved in promoting the school’s interscholastic
athletic program; and
2.2 Improper Contact. “Improper contact” is contact, either directly or indirectly, whether in person or through
Policy on Athletic Recruiting
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written or electronic communication, by a school employee, athletic department staff member, or representative of the
school’s athletic interests with a student who does not attend that school or any member of the student’s family, in an effort
to pressure, urge or entice the student to attend that school for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics.
2.3 Impermissible Benefit. An “impermissible benefit” is any arrangement, assistance or benefit that is not offered
or generally made available to all students and/or their families who apply to or attend a school, or that otherwise is prohibited
by FHSAA rules. Receipt of a benefit by a student-athlete or his/her family is not a violation of FHSAA rules if it is
demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the school’s students or family members and is not based in any
way on athletic interest, potential or performance.
2.4 Financial Assistance. “Financial assistance” is funds from various sources that are administered and provided
by a school to students to pay or assist in paying costs directly related to their education at the school.
3.0 IMPROPER CONTACT
3.1 General Regulation. No school employee, athletic department staff member, or representative of the school’s
athletic interests may make contact, either in person or through any form of written or electronic communication or through
any third party, with a student who does not attend that school or any member of the student’s family, in an effort to pressure,
urge or entice the student to attend that school for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics.
3.2 Specific Prohibitions. Specifically prohibited contact by school employees, athletic department staff members
and representatives of the school’s athletic interests with a student who does not attend that school includes, but is not limited
to, the following:
(a) Sending, or arranging for anyone else to send, any form of written or electronic communication to the student
or any member of his/her family, in an attempt to pressure, urge or entice the student to attend the school to participate in
interscholastic athletics.
(b) Visiting or entertaining the student or any member of his/her family in an attempt to pressure, urge or entice the
student to attend the school to participate in interscholastic athletics.
(c) Making a presentation or distributing any form of advertisement, commercial or material that promotes primarily
or exclusively the school’s athletic program or implies the school’s athletic program is better than the athletic program of
any other school or suggests that the student’s athletic career would be better served by attending that school.
(d) Answering an inquiry by the student or any member of his/her family about athletic participation opportunities at
the school with any response that pressures, urges or entices the student to attend that school. The student or family member
instead should be immediately referred to the school employee responsible for registrations or admissions.
(e) Providing transportation to the student or any member of his/her family to visit the school, to take an entrance examination
for the school, to participate in an athletic tryout at the school, or to meet with a school employee, athletic department
staff member or other representative of the school’s athletic interests as part of an effort to pressure, urge or facilitate
the student’s attendance at that school to participate in interscholastic athletics.
(f) Attending an elementary school, a junior high school, a middle school or a non-school athletic contest to identify
prospective student-athletes who might be recruited to attend the school.
(g) Suggesting or going along with any effort by any person, whether a school employee or other representative of
the school’s athletic interests, or any other person such as an alumnus of the school, a coach or other person affiliated with
a non-school athletic program (e.g., AAU team, club team, travel team, recreation league team, etc.), a coach of or recruiter
for a collegiate athletic team, or a scout for a professional team, to pressure, urge or entice the student to attend the school
to participate in interscholastic athletics, or to direct or place the student at the school for the purpose of participating in
interscholastic athletics.
(h) Making or arranging any other contact with the student or any member of his/her family in an attempt to pressure,
urge or entice the student to attend the school to participate in interscholastic athletics.


Here is the full policy for those interested:
http://www.fhsaa.org/compliance/files/recruiting.pdf

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Justices uphold high school anti-recruiting rule
By David G. Savage, Times Staff Writers and Eric Sondheimer, Times Staff Writers|June 22, 2007
WASHINGTON — High schools with big-time sports ambitions were dealt a setback Thursday when the Supreme Court upheld a rule that forbids coaches from recruiting young athletes.

In a 9-0 decision, the justices said the 1st Amendment's guarantee of free speech does not shield coaches who ignore the rules of fair competition by contacting students and encouraging them to enroll in their school.

In south Florida these rules never apply to Aquinas or American Heritage

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Don't know much about Aquinas, but AH Delray definately does not live by the rules. My daughter played on a top club team and one of the asst. coaches wanted the whole team to apply to AH. (He knew that not all would go since some were playing in top private schools that were academically far above AH), but he said that all would get in no problem. I also know of a father who took his very talented baseball player son to AH and they offered him an academic scholarship. The father said, what? My son is a great athletic, but a c student. He turned down the offer and told me that it was because sooner or later he knew that they would get caught. Well, that was a few years ago and nothing has been done, but their recruiting practices are under the table. A fact!

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The Advantage of Heritage has been getting Middle School kids into HS Program and they can play varsity in 7th and 8th grade. One girl has been among the most dominant HS varsity players for last 3 years as a 6th, 7th and 8th grader. She is faster has more skill than any of the top travel players 2 or 3 years older. It is not really about recruiting it is about being able to offer the best a stage that other Public High Schools can't. THis is not possible on Boys side because size and strength do matter. As far a St Thomas and football this is a nationwide problem but I can say my High School up north for 25 years has been able to be the beat the best Catholic High Schools by being a better program. remember Boca High and Cypress Bay had accusations of recruiting against them last year also. So it is not just a private school problem. No matter what the sport kids want to play on the best team.