The NCAA has suspended the recruiting rule allowing for unlimited phone calls and texts to prospects. (AP)

By Zac Ellis

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors suspended the rule allowing unlimited phone calls and text messages to recruits, the organization announced on Thursday.

After receiving more than 75 requests to override the measure, the Board opted to reverse the rule, which was originally adopted in January. The Board instead supported a recommendation that “all the recruiting concepts under review be examined as a group to develop a model that considers how the changes would work together.”

“We are supportive of moving as aggressively as possible while still studying the issues with due diligence,” said Board of Directors chair Nathan Hatch, president at Wake Forest University. “It’s important to make sure all the pieces of the recruiting model work together to make the most effective change in the culture.”

MANDEL: Recruiting deregulation fiasco underscores deeper NCAA disconnect

By Zac Ellis

Today’s news sure to raise some eyebrows comes courtesy of the NCAA, as it so often does. According to Jordan Moore, the director of social media for the USC athletic department, the NCAA has nixed the use of Twitter hashtags on college football fields.

Social media police: The NCAA has banned hashtags on college football fields.—
Jordan Moore (@MooreSports) May 01, 2013

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Schools are not taking advantage of the NCAA’s multiyear scholarship policy, per a report. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Few athletes are benefiting from multiyear scholarships, according to a report by the Chronicle for Higher Education. After the NCAA adopted a policy last year to allow schools to offer multiyear financial aid to student-athletes, the assumption was that many universities would take advantage. However, that hasn’t been the case.

Only six schools in the six major conferences signed at least 24 multiyear scholarships across all sports over the past year: Florida (60), Ohio State (47), NC State (40), Michigan State (30), Arizona State (27) and Auburn (27). Programs tend to prefer single-year scholarships with the option to renew annually.

The multiyear policy was adopted to give student-athletes more rights and discourage the cutting of scholarships on the basis of athletic performance. Many programs still disagree with the idea of a guaranteed four-year scholarship, maintaining that the majority of single-year scholarships are renewed each year.

“Who gets a four-year, $120K deal guaranteed at age 17?” Christine A. Plonsky, women’s athletic director at the University of Texas, wrote in an e-mail to The Chronicle. “The last thing young people need right now is more entitlement.”

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By Zac Ellis

Given the debate around pay-for-play models and the growing criticism toward college athletics, it was only a matter of time before Jon Stewart of The Daily Show took a shot at the NCAA. Check out the video above, courtesy of thedailyshow.com.

Stewart took on college athletics’ governing body during his show on Thursday night, touching on both the Ed O’Bannon v. the NCAA lawsuit and the controversy surrounding Minnesota wrestler Joel Bauman. I’m not sure if it’s surprising that the NCAA decided against sitting down with The Daily Show, but that only facilitated more humor. Enjoy.

Joe Pipkin, SS. 22 inches, 12 pounds. Tremendous explosiveness off the line. Can be difficult to motivate.

Our greatest vinyl-based fears have come to pass, with the NCAA’s board of directors following through on recommendations to suspend two high-profile new pieces of legislation, including the beloved (by us) Fathead Rule:

The Board postponed new rules deregulating who can perform recruiting tasks and what printed materials can be sent to prospects. Board members also considered suspending a third proposal that eliminated restrictions on modes and numerical limitations of recruiting contacts, but they ultimately agreed to let the membership decide that rule’s future through the override process. Suspending the rules means they will not become effective unless and until appropriate modifications are made. 

Do we see how these proposals could get entirely out of hand if left unchecked? Sure. Are we disappointed that the mailing of oversized vinyl helmets and humans to high school kids isn’t going to be a thing? Little bit. Is the true source of our disappointment welling from the destruction of our plan to get our cat registered as an associate degree holder from a diploma mill and see if we can get him included on hot juco prospect lists, thereby earning a giant Fathead of his face? It absolutely is. Catheads!

The NCAA’s Rules Working Group has recommended the suspension of a couple high-profile new rules; we have highlighted the one that pertains particularly to those of us in the blogging community:

The working group members will recommend:

• Prop. No. RWG-11-2, which eliminated the definition of recruiting coordination functions that must be performed only be a head or assistant coach, be suspended until appropriate modifications can be made. The concept will be considered as the membership ponders its approach to non-coaching personnel.
• Prop. No. RWG-13-5-A, which eliminated restrictions on printed materials sent to prospects other than general correspondence, be suspended to allow for a broader discussion of the rule.

Yup. Shed a vinyl-scented tear, friends and neighbors: The Fathead Rule is on hold.

Steve spurrier Jr.'s plan to send Gamecock recruits Fatheads, which would have been perfectly legal under new rules, on hold for now.—
Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) March 07, 2013

Florida’s Matt Elam is seen here in a rare moment when he’s not hitting somebody. (AP)

So, so much to unpack from the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel decisions. Dive in:

• Marinate happily first in the good news. The dream of the Surly Hillocks defense remains very much alive! Rejoice, Boise State fans: The proposition that would require either team jerseys or pants to contrast with the color of the field was shot down. In related uniform news, jersey numerals are now mandated to be “one solid color that itself is clearly in distinct contrast with the color of the jersey.” And don’t cast side-eyes at Oregon just yet: Remember the Under Armour/Wounded Warrior getups South Carolina was forbidden to wear?

• We regret that this is going into place too late to see how it would affect Matt Elam hitting his own teammate. That ejection-for-targeting penalty? Approved. No, it’s cool; there’s gonna be a review process. If you liked arguing the semantics of “irrefutable video evidence” before, you’re gonna LOVE this (emphasis ours, like it needs it): “In an effort to address concerns when one of these plays is erroneously called on the field, the ejection portion of the penalty will be reviewable through video replay. The replay official must have conclusive evidence that a player should not be ejected to overturn the call on the field.”

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There are nine Boise State football players in this picture. Can you spot them all? (AP)

Boise State and the Mountain West are trying to make it work, you might have heard, and apparently part of this rekindled relationship involves letting Boise be Boise. The Idaho Statesman got ahold of a letter in which the MWC, which previously banned the Broncos from wearing blue uniforms on their blue home field because of some bizarro belief that elite college athletes cannot see in three dimensions, defends Boise against a proposed NCAA rule change that would take that prohibition nationwide. Why?

The Mountain West required Boise State to wear a contrasting color for conference home games the past two years as part of the Broncos’ membership agreement. However, the league agreed to allow the blue uniforms beginning in 2013 as part of the school’s renewed commitment to the league.

The letter itself states that “The proposed rule is not related to any student-athlete safety concerns,” a position that must be given some weight considering the Broncos’ trip to East Lansing last season. The team was repeatedly victimized by Mark Dantonio’s “Surly Hillocks” defensive alignment, which consists of Spartan defenders dressing in all-green uniforms and lying perfectly still on a verdant field to form tripping hazards.* The unit’s top-five finish speaks for itself.

*This is not actually a thing Michigan State does, but only because Dantonio finds the practice overly slothful.

• We (collective we) have some thoughts.  Stewart Mandel on the future of the NCAA’s enforcement model: “At what point does Emmert — or if not him, the NCAA’s members — finally admit the need to blow up the whole thing and replace it with something more effective?” Andy Staples on the need for NCAA transparency: “The release of the report in the Miami case didn’t shatter the public’s trust in the NCAA. The public never trusted the NCAA in the first place, because the NCAA usually acts as if it has something to hide.” Us: Honestly, we’re re-reading last February’s piece on Nevin Shapiro’s next claims and feeling just a little melancholy. Not even one of those came true? You can’t tell us the Greg Olsen one is that far-fetched.

And the thing about trying to joke on this latest revelation is that every single joke could conceivably come true. Observe:

Apparently didn't faze the NCAA that Shapiro's attorney had to take a bankruptcy training session before she could file subpoenas for them.—
Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) February 19, 2013

@John_Infante That was the 20% that exonerated them.—
Alan Cornett (@alancornett) February 18, 2013

omg it just hit me. ncaa is going to drag out this investigation until the statute of limitations on miami's civil lawsuit expires. GENIUS!—
lieutenant winslow (@lt_winslow) February 18, 2013

By the time NCAA's opening statement is completed, Miami already will have served its NCAA probation—
Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) February 18, 2013

I’m withholding judgment until the Roe Lach family report comes out.—
John Infante (@John_Infante) February 18, 2013

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• Well played, Hairy Dawg. Well played. Are we tiring of this meme in record time? Yes. Did Georgia’s football team have a lot of ground to make up to even come close to the greatness of UGA’s swim team video? Absolutely.

Did the Dawgs earn a place in the pantheon for including a scooter in their video? You bet your sweet underbelly lying on a bag of ice in August they did. (We assume overenthusiastic Athens cops swarmed the mascot just after the camera cut off.)

• TRIAL OF THE MILLENIUM, INCOMING. Harvey Updyke’s bond has been revoked; an April trial date has been set, and wherever it ends up taking place, we promise you now that we will be there covering the thing like a plucky character in a Harper Lee novel.

• Hey, neato, more subjectivity on refs’ shoulders! No way this ends poorly, right?

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