Ivy League Recruiting Scandal...

Terry O'Keefe · Mar 5, 2008

wouldn't make many people blush. Heck I thought the Ivy's just posted a note in dorms that tryouts were being held for basketball, or whatever sport. The thought that they actually recruit players seems foreign to me.

Harvard and Ivy League Will Review Recruiting
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By PETE THAMEL
Published: March 5, 2008
BOSTON — Harvard and the Ivy League have said they will review the possibility that the Crimson men’s basketball program committed recruiting violations.

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Josh Haner/The New York Times
Before coming to Harvard, Tommy Amaker coached at Seton Hall and Michigan.

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In a New Era at Harvard, New Questions of Standards (March 2, 2008) The Ivy League released a short statement Tuesday after an article in The New York Times on Sunday described how Kenny Blakeney, now a Crimson assistant coach, visited two Harvard recruits and played pickup basketball with them during times when contact with recruits was prohibited. One of the recruits said the visit occurred before Blakeney was officially hired on Coach Tommy Amaker’s staff at Harvard, but it would still be prohibited because the N.C.A.A. would consider him a representative of the university.

“We’re going to do what needs to be done, and it’s going to be done in a timely way,” said Jeff Orleans, the Ivy League executive director, who declined to comment further in a brief telephone interview.

Numerous Ivy coaches and athletic directors also declined to comment, saying that any statements should be made through the league. Other coaches said that their athletic directors would not allow them to speak about the issue.

Last week, some Ivy coaches expressed skepticism about the league’s ability and incentive to handle recruiting issues at Harvard. They cited multiple instances that popped up over the summer that brought no action from the league.

Last week, Harvard’s athletic director, Bob Scalise, said he had what he called a “teaching moment” with Amaker in November after “three or four” different matters arose. He said he encouraged Amaker to be “beyond reproach.”

Last week in a telephone interview, Orleans dismissed the notion that the Ivy League was not capable of making sure compliance matters were handled properly.

“We’ve got 33 leaguewide sports and 250 head coaches,” he said. “We’re no strangers to questions from coaches to institutions. We probably have a very consistent and I think sophisticated compliance program. I’m not concerned with our ability to respond with any compliance issue we faced.”

The only Ivy League athletic director who responded to a request for an interview, Yale’s Thomas A. Beckett, said he believed the matter would be handled fairly.

“I think that there are some very bright and very caring people that have worked very hard over many years and decades to make sure the league is operating properly,” Beckett said. “I have full confidence that this will be handled properly and the league will do the right thing, as will Harvard.”

Former Harvard assistant coaches and rival coaches have said that the university has lowered its academic standards for basketball players. Harvard has issued a statement saying that the incoming recruiting class cannot be judged until admissions notes are sent out at the end of March.

Scalise said last week in reference to Amaker’s first full recruiting class, “We have given him a few more numbers to work with.” But Harvard is adamant in denying that its standards have been compromised.

“The admission of Harvard athletes represents the highest levels of Ivy League principles and practices,” Harvard’s dean of admissions and financial aid, William R. Fitzsimmons, said in the statement. “Any reports to the contrary are inaccurate and premature as students are not admitted until the end of March.”

Ivy League coaches and athletic directors will now surely take note of how many of the six players who have publicly committed to Harvard will be admitted. Amaker is not allowed to speak publicly about recruits, but he did nothing to play down their potential as Harvard players.

As part of his recruiting pitch, Amaker talked to the players about the possibility of playing together at Harvard. When a reporter visited his office for an interview in January, Amaker had his director of basketball operations, Kirsten Green, print out numerous articles about the recruits.

Publicizing recruiting classes is considered risky in the Ivy League, where nothing is final until admissions letters are sent.

“He just has to learn that things are done different in the league, especially compared to a big-time school like Seton Hall and Michigan,” said Pete Carril, the longtime former Princeton coach, referring to Amaker’s previous coaching stints. “They’re done differently.”
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Ivy League Recruiting Scandal...

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