NCAA Satellite Camps Ban Will Not Hold Up

The NCAA made a knee-jerk reaction in its ban of satellite camps, and with so much opposition to the decision, it’s unlikely that it holds up.

When the NCAA flexed its mighty muscles and banned satellite camps, it created a strong storm of backlash that, even for an entity that receives a lot scrutiny, it probably didn’t anticipate.

The move to ban satellite camps was very obviously in response to complaints from SEC and ACC coaches and officials who simply didn’t like the idea of outsiders (namely Jim Harbaugh) getting that kind of access to their incredibly fertile recruiting grounds.

Aside from the policy, many are outraged enough at how quickly the whole process was moved along. It conveniently cut the cord on satellite camp plans this summer. Harbaugh had another “Summer Swarm” (like the one Michigan football went on last year in seven states) lined up. Not anymore.

But it’s not like Harbaugh was the only coach with plans. Far from it. And he didn’t invent the satellite camp.

(To be clear, even though the NCAA release said the ban was “effective immediately,” that won’t actually be true until the NCAA Board of Governors convenes on April 28 and ratifies it. Er, if it ratifies it. That surprisingly hasn’t gotten a whole lot of attention.)

The opposition to the ban mounted quickly, and it’s been raining steadily ever since. And it’s also created a few sticky situations across the college football landscape.

Sun Belt NCAA Council rep Larry Ties, the athletic director at Texas State, voted for the ban, despite a “majority” of conference officials supporting it, according to commissioner Karl Benson.

Virtually the same thing happened in the Pac-12, where Dan Guerrero (athletic director at UCLA) voted in support of the ban, even though all 11 other schools opposed it.

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Within the NCAA itself, CBS Sports is reporting that there was a motion to table the satellite camp legislation, but it was voted on anyway.

Former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez (now the head coach at Arizona) has been one of the most outspoken critics of the ban.

“I don’t know how that rule passed so quickly,” Rodriguez told reporters. “I understand if we table it and look at it for a year, but to table it because a few SEC or ACC schools don’t want to have it is not fair to a lot of coaches, a lot of programs and more importantly to the student athletes.”

Rodriguez and his staff were planning camps “all over California with other stops in Hawaii, Arizona and other states,” according to story.

Matt Campbell, now the head coach at Iowa State, spent the last five seasons at Toledo, so he knows first-hand how satellite camps benefited his MAC program.

“The reality of it is that you’re hurting kids,” said Campbell. “I’m coming from a non-Power 5 school, where we made a living on those camps. We went with Ohio State, (and) we went with Michigan. We did our own camps, traveling the circuit throughout Ohio. It was to give back to the community, to give back and take ourselves out there to these kids.”

The list of critics and harsh quotes go on and on.

ESPN is reporting that six conferences voted for the ban, while five voted against it. With it being such a closely contested matter (and considering it may not have passed had some conference reps voted with the majority), it’s no surprise that NCAA executive Oliver Luck recently said the NCAA would revisit the ban.

This storm against the NCAA’s ruling has been devastating, and it will probably heat up again when summer rolls around and teams aren’t on the road like they have been in the past.

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Given the fight the NCAA will have to mount in order to cement this ban, there’s no way it’s hear to stay.

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