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College Sports Recruiting Has Now Targeted Grade School
Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC
Date: November 22, 2013
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Sports programs have become increasingly profitable for colleges and universities in recent years, which has led many schools to begin targeting top athletes as early as grade school.
There is currently no rule in place that prevents colleges and universities from recruiting kids this age, but this could become a major topic of conversation in the near future. The contentious nature of this issue – children are involved – may result in the passage of a sports law that states the recruiting process can’t begin until high school.
In recent years, athletes have received scholarship offers before they are even able to drive. For example, Dylan Moses – 15 years old – was featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine earlier this year as he has offers from Alabama, LSU, Texas, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, UCLA and Ole Miss.
On the surface, such an offer provided to an athlete in grade school may seem harmless. It is a cool experience for the kid and shows that he might have a future in college athletics. However, providing a scholarship offer to a child still in eighth grade can lead to numerous issues.
Not only is there the ethical aspect (how can a kid in middle school possibly know what is best for his or her future?), but it can also lead to the exploitation of young athletes across the country. For instance, parents or guardians of these children may be tempted to take money from schools to steer them to the respective programs. Also, what happens when the coach who offered the scholarship is fired or leaves for another job before the young athlete enters college? However, it should be noted that young athletes aren’t bound by this agreement and could de-commit.
With so many rules in place to prevent sports agents from communicating with athletes on the verge of turning professional, it will be interesting to see the stance the NCAA takes on recruiting athletes still in a grade school in the future.
- Industries: Entertainment & Media
- Locations: Red Bank, NJ, New York City, Little Falls, NJ
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