T, You can only give 25 scholarships a year. So if you accept 27 LOI's you have oversigned. Now back to the basic question. It is not illegal. If the Big 10 doesn't want to do it...good for them. The Big 10 could decide they are only going to give 20 scholarships a year and carry a total of 75, if they wanted to. That would be their decision. No one held a gun on the Big 10 and made them make a rule more stringent than the NCAA. :?: If that is their rule then they decided to impose a competitive disadvantage on themselves.
Therein lies the issue.....the NCAA has no signing rule and the clash between the limit of 25 schollies per class and the number of offers over that limit is what gives rise to the need for "sketchy practices". KP, M's 27 was not oversigning in that they only signed 22 kids the year before and therefore had 3 additional spots available to them from the prior year, therefore nobody needs to get kicked to the curb or other "sketchy practices". M's 4 year average is 23.....2 below the NCAA's 25 schollie limit. You'll notice there are no Big 10 schools that average over 25 signings per year.........the majority of SEC schools average over 25 per year, a couple of Big 12 and Big East schools do as well. Auburn wins the prize averaging 30. That is oversigning..... I agree, the Big 10 instituted its own rule. The NCAA has yet to address the issue and those that practice oversigning are not doing anything illegal.....I don't believe that we want that to be the standard. The use does give rise to "sketchy practices" (your words), it does provide, imo, material competitive advantage and simply believe it to be in the best interest of the game if the issue is addressed with a national standard or simply prohibit the practice for all - not unlike academics, roster size, yearly admissions, recruiting, etc. The game has enough "shady practices", no reason to provide the opportunity for more.....just my opinion. We can disagree, still be pals, but I have to root hard for my conference brothers Sparty....I think it's a good matchup and I'm looking forward to the game. Good luck to the Tide!
Has anyone looked to see who the bottom 5 are that Auburn signs? Maybe these kids are willing to take a chance they'll stick because their next best choice is Wofford, Valdosta State or something like that. Additional;ly.....some of those signees are probably serious academic risks and Auburn is willing to give them a shot when other schools say they aren't going to waste time on it. I'll bet that not all 30 signees are being offered also by Fla, Ohio State, ND, Bama, et. al.
One thing about the oversigning. Let's say you sign more than 25 in a year, or you continually go over the 85 limit. That will force the school to "trapdoor" some kids out, or just say "sorry, we don't have a schollie for you" to make the numbers work. High school coaches remember this. If you do it enough, they will NOT be very welcoming to you when you show up on their doors, and they DO have influence with their kids about where they go.
.....sounds like a mulligan. If I'm given enough mulligans, I can beat Tiger Woods. However, it's not just "5"......it can be multiples of that and can be additive over the years. If Auburn has 85 kids on scholarship, 10 seniors leaving and 2 early departures for the NFL and 2 academic casualties, they only have room for 14 new kids.....if they sign 28 as permitted by the conference, there are 14 kids who are going to have to be "kicked to the curb" so to speak or other "arrangements" made . Not to mention the empty promises given to all the prior excess kids conveniently planted at nearby community colleges, etc. Every school faces the issues of academic casualties, injury related and other early departures, etc....the practice does provide an incentive to create a situation where kids get cast aside in very unfortunate circumstances.....I just don't believe we need to promote an environment in which these practices need to occur.....
True enough Scott....also, I believe the "dark side" of the practice is now becoming more public and eventually the pressure on the NCAA will be overwhelming, imo. In light of the Newton debacle, the NCAA needs to do as much as possible to regain some credibilty and may find it in their interest to grab this "low hanging fruit".
Oh Hell yeah. This is just sports. OMG, I can't believe I just said that! Anyway, I am used to listening to all you damned yankees sticking together. Roll Tide!
:lol: :lol: I truly am looking forward the Bama - Sparty matchup.....I'm a big fan of D'Antonio and putting his kids to the test against the Tide will be a good measuring stick for just far he has taken this program.....has he taken them to the next level or just paper tigers. We'll find out who shows up....the team that whacked Wisky or the run that got run out of Iowa City? Vegas line looks like it opened at Bama giving 7 1/2 and has been bid up to 10 1/2.....that seems like an awful lot of points, but those guys generally know what they're talking about......
See this is the difference between you socialist B10 guys and the rugged indivualists of the B12. You won't find Scott or I rooting for some B12 team just because they are a B12 team!! :wink: :wink:
I do root for the SEC in non-con games.....especially the bowl games.....and especially those against certain conferences.... :wink: 8)
Terry, I hear you. I can root for just about every other SEC team except Auburn. When Auburn has any success, every Alabama fan has to endure the hell of listening to their obnoxious bluster. :evil: