40 Acres Sports

Todd Wills from the Dallas Morning News has written an article on the effects of text messaging and the lack of rules regarding them are having on NCAA football recruiting. In addition to being a quick and “hip” way to instantly get in touch with any high school kid, text messages are considered “electronic transmissions” and aren’t restricted in any way. The dead periods that limit the communication between coaches and recruits also don’t apply, so coaches seem to be even more text happy during these times.

Some good quotes in the article from recruits (“It felt a little weird.”) as well as examples of the text messages coaches send. Personally I think it’s kind of lame and it would mean nothing to me to get a message from a coach. They take 3 seconds to send and there’s no thought behind them at all. Seems like most of the recruits interviewed agree and find it annoying or pointless.

Urban Meyer’s messages look particularly stupid, “it’s a great day to be a Gator.” Wow, it must make you feel really special when you get that completely and other completely impersonal messages almost every day. Wishing a player good luck before a game or checking to see how he played is one thing, but in general it seems like something that would have little effect on anyone’s college choice. If a kid is flaky enough to pick a school because of a coach’s “l33t txting skillz” than you’re probably have trouble down the road.

I’m sure the NCAA will finally get around to regulating them a little better as soon as texting isn’t cool anymore.

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