Oversigning

Oversigning (also spelled Over-signing) is an unofficial term for the practice of American college athletic departments signing recruits to a National Letter of Intent (NLI) that may exceed the maximum number of athletic scholarships permitted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA limits the total number of scholarship that may be awarded as well as the number of scholarships awarded in a given year. Those limits differ by sport and the division in which that sport participates. Most conferences have additional rules governing signing NLI.

NCAA rule 15.5.6.1 limits FBS football programs to a total number of scholarships to 85 "counters" annually and 25 scholarships for "initial counters." Counters (NCAA Rule 15.02.3) are individuals who are receiving institutional financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport, initial counters (NCAA Rule 15.02.3.1) are individuals who are receiving countable financial aid in a sport for the first time. Rule 13.9.2.3 limits schools to signing 28 NLI from initial signing day through May 31st.^[1]

Oversigning can occur in two ways. First, if a school signs a number of NLI that may bring their total number of counters above the NCAA limit of 85. Second would be to sign more than 25 NLI during the period between National Signing Day and May 31st.

Oversigning occurs in other sports but has received the most attention from media members and fans, in regard to Division I FBS college football.^[2][3][4]

NCAA rules permit oversigning up to 28 NLI, though some college football fans view oversigning as unethical, arguing that it requires schools and coaches to be dishonest with young adult and adolescent recruits.^[4]

Atlantic Coast Conference

Florida State

After National Signing Day in 2011, Florida State University was oversigned by several players.^[5] During his Signing Day press conference, head coach Jimbo Fisher said he expected several recruits to not be academically qualified to play in 2011 though Fisher did not give the specific number by which he had oversigned.^[5]

Miami

In a December 2010 feature on oversigning, ESPN's Outside the Lines profiled former University of Miami defensive lineman Stephen Wesley, who was told - in July 2010, just weeks before his senior season was to begin - that his scholarship would not be renewed.^[6] Miami and then-head coach Randy Shannon did not give an explanation for Wesley's dismissal from the team, but many believed (as Outside the Lines noted) Wesley was cut from the team to make room for Seantrel Henderson, who announced he would attend Miami just weeks before Wesley's dismissal.^[7]

Big East Conference

In the 2011 offseason, the University of Louisville men's basketball team found itself with a roster of 18 players—five more than the NCAA limit of 13 scholarship players for that sport.^[8] In the 2010–11 season, the Cardinals had a 15-man roster, but two of these players were walk-ons, placing them within NCAA limits. Three scholarship players departed after the season, but coach Rick Pitino had initially signed a four-player freshman class, resulting in 14 scholarship players plus the two returning walk-ons. Then, coaching changes gave Pitino the opportunity to bring in a freshman who had originally committed to Tennessee and a transfer from George Mason. Both were signed, resulting in 16 scholarship players.^[9]

The situation was resolved when three returning scholarship players agreed to become walk-ons for the 2011–12 season. All had originally come to Louisville as walk-ons, but had earned scholarships.^[9] What made this situation especially unusual is that two of the three were seniors who were expected to start in the coming season. One of the senior walk-ons, Kyle Kuric, was the Cardinals' only returning double-figure scorer.^[10] The other senior walk-on, Chris Smith, was the Cardinals' third-leading returning scorer.^[11] Both were financially able to absorb being walk-ons—Kuric's parents are a neurosurgeon and a nurse practicioner, and Smith is the younger brother of former NBA player J. R. Smith, who had paid his brother's way at U of L when he had to sit out the 2009–10 season as a transfer.^[9]

Big Ten

Ohio State

In an article posted June 25th, 2011 by ABC news, James Jackson, former Ohio State wide receiver, says he lost his scholarship due to oversigning. "They had an oversigning issue," Jackson said. "They had to free up a few scholarships, and coach (Jim) Tressel told me I probably wouldn't play and maybe Ohio State wasn't the place for me." Ohio State denies that Jackson was forced to transfer. "Our policy is as James Jackson stated: As long as a student-athlete maintains his/her academic standing, behaves appropriately and handles his/her responsibilities, he or she will retain their scholarship. We have no proof of any conversation between he and former head coach Jim Tressel," ^[12]

Southeastern Conference

Several universities within the Southeastern Conference (SEC) have frequently been accused of oversigning.^[13][14] Florida, Georgia,^[15] and Vanderbilt are usually noted as exceptions within the SEC due to their having signed the fewest total recruits among SEC teams over the past decade.^[16] Georgia head coach Mark Richt has condemned the process, saying "I don't want to oversign, then tell one of the kids we've already got, 'You've got no value to us' and toss him aside. I'm not going to do that."^[2]

On February 1, 2011, Sports Illustrated published a letter from the president of the University of Florida, Bernie Machen, in which Machen condemned oversigning-related practices - including grayshirting and the excessive use of medical disqualifications - as "morally reprehensible" and "repugnant."^[17]

Houston Nutt Rule

In May 2009, the SEC passed a rule restricting its football teams to accepting no more than 28 National Letters of Intent each year.^[18] This move was widely viewed as a direct response to the University of Mississippi and its head coach, Houston Nutt, having promised 37 scholarships to new recruits for the 2009 season. Thus the rule is now commonly referred to as "The Houston Nutt Rule."^[14][19]

Alabama and Nick Saban

2010

WSJ Medical Scholarship Concerns

On September 24th, 2010 2010, theWall Street Journal published an article suggesting the University of Alabama and its head coach, Nick Saban, had encouraging some under-performing players to quit the team for medical reasons in order to gain a competitive edge.

Former Alabama linebacker Chuck Kirschman said "I'm still kind of bitter," and Coach Saban encouraged him to accept the scholarship because of a back problem that Kirschman believes he could have played through. Kirschman said the school offered in the summer of 2009 to pay for his graduate degree in business, an offer he accepted, and that he still gets some of the same perks as players. Kirschman completed his MBA in Finance.

Charles Hoke, a former Alabama offensive lineman, took a medical scholarship in 2008 because of a shoulder problem, said the choice was left entirely up to him and was based on the many conversations he had with the team's doctors and trainers over the course of his junior year.

Jeramie Griffin tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in August of 2009. He said, "I came back in the spring and I was OK." Griffin said that he was surprised football staff told him he had failed a physical. Griffin said, Saban asked him what he wanted to do besides playing football, and that Saban floated the possibility of a medical scholarship and asked if Griffin was interested in student coaching. Griffin said he doesn't contest the results of the physical and said it was "basically my decision" to forgo the rest of his playing career.

Doug Walker, the school's associate athletic director for media relations, said "Decisions about medical disqualifications for student-athletes are made by medical professionals and adhere to the parameters outlined by the NCAA…and the Southeastern Conference." ^[20]

On September 29th 2010 Coach Saban responded to questions about the Wall Street Journal Article, "We don't make the decision about medicals. I have nothing to do with that. Those are medical decisions made by our medical staff. I think we have one of the finest medical staffs in the country. I don't have any question about the fact every player we have given a medical to, it's been because of the medical opinion of the medical staff," Saban said. "Those guys should not continue to play football because it would put their future in tremendous risk. Those decisions are always made in the best interest of the player. Whether the player agrees with that or not, I can't control. I don't make the decision. They don't make the decision as players. That's why we have a medical staff."^[21]

WSJ Transfer Concerns

On November 25, 2010, the Journal reported that several former Alabama players claim Saban and Alabama lied about their reasons for leaving the school.^[3] On August 5th, 2009 Saban in a press conference Saban made a statement included was a reference to four players Price Hall, Brandon Fanney, Alonzo Lawrence and Jermaine Preyear. "These guys all did something. It doesn't make them bad people.…These guys didn't do what they were supposed to do here, whether it was for academic reasons or whatever. They're not going to be part of the program."^[22] The players told The Wall Street Journal they committed no such violations and that Alabama and Saban had only claimed as much so as to protect the image of their program in the eyes of future recruits.

Prince Hall, a starter and All-American as freshman, had been suspended for the 3rd time during the Spring according to published reports, the last being categorized as indefinite. Brandon Fanney, a 14 game starter from the previous season, had been suspended for rules violations during the Spring. ^[23]

Preyear, who decided to transfer six months after enrolling during the Spring, said he chose to leave over concerns about playing time. "I don't know any rules I could have broken."

Alonzo Lawrence reasons for transfer were unclear, but according to his high school coach his problems at Alabama "wasn't anything major," and tied it to things like being late to team meetings. Lawrence transferred to Southern Miss before moving on to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. ^{[24] [25]}

Saban's Exchange with another Reporter

On April 15th 2008, Saban was asked by reporter Ian Rapoport how he was going to handle the numbers and when does he you start to worry about it? Saban replied "I'm not worried about them. It'll all work out. I mean, the whole thing has a solution to every issue. You don't put yourself in a position where you don't know what's coming." Rapoport respond, "So you're not going to tell us?" to which Saban replied "We know how it has to be managed, and it will be managed. It's none of your business. Aiight? And don't give me this stuff about the fans' need to know, because they don't need to know. Don't even ask. Aiight?"^[26]

2011

In early 2011, after National Signing Day, Saban and the University of Alabama again became the subjects of heavy media criticism after they again appeared to have oversigned. When asked about the appearance of being oversigned during his Signing Day press conference, Saban gave a 431-word response^[27] in which he denied being oversigned but refused to clarify the situation by explaining how many scholarship players departed the program after the 2010 season.^[28] Further raising questions about Saban and Alabama, Birmingham News journalist Kevin Scarbinsky revealed a few days after Saban's press conference that in numerous requests by the newspaper for the scholarship numbers of public universities in Alabama, the University of Alabama has been the only one to completely redact the numbers for every sport in which it participates.^[29]

LSU and Les Miles

In 2010, Louisiana State University (LSU) and head coach Les Miles were also the subjects of numerous oversigning allegations.^[4][30] In August, with his program at the scholarship limit for the year, Miles asked two recruits, Elliot Porter and Cameron Fordham, to wait until January 2011 to receive their previously promised scholarships. (This practice is known as "grayshirting.") Fordham chose to stay with the team, but Porter decided to leave the school. A third player, Houston Bates, had previously been asked to grayshirt and decided not to attend LSU, instead signing with Illinois.^[31] In December, ESPN's Outside the Lines broadcast a report in which former LSU quarterback Chris Garrett claimed LSU and Les Miles lied about the circumstances surrounding the school's decision not to renew Garrett's scholarship and Garrett's subsequent departure from LSU.^[6]

South Carolina and Steve Spurrier

In 2011, South Carolina, coached by Steve Spurrier, oversigned by several players. Both Oversigning.com^[32] and Rivals.com^[33] estimated South Carolina oversigned by 6 players when it signed 32 players in its 2011 class.^[34] Additionally, on the day before National Signing Day, South Carolina rescinded offers to two other recruits that had verbally committed to signing with the school. One of the recruits, Lorenzo Mauldin, had been committed to the school for months^[35] but learned he would not receive a scholarship offer when South Carolina faxed a notice of the rescinded offer to his high school on the day before Signing Day.^[36] Walter Banks, the coach of Jordan Montgomery, the other recruit whose scholarship offer was pulled the day before National Signing Day, told The Wall Street Journal, "I told [South Carolina coaches] this was foul. I didn't have a clue until 18 hours before signing day, and if they say anything else, they're lying."^[37] Banks also told The State that South Carolina coaches are "no longer welcome" at his high school (South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida) saying, "I cannot look a kid and their parent in the face and say you can trust what a University of South Carolina coach says."^[38] Spurrier admitted to The Wall Street Journal that "what we probably could've done earlier in the recruiting is tell them that this could happen."^[37] He later added, "I think on [Feb. 1] we alerted both of them, talked to them and said ‘Hey, I’m sorry. This is where we are. We got all these other commitments.’ We didn’t like doing this.”^[38] In late March 2011, Mauldin signed with Louisville saying that he came to believe that South Carolina coaches really didn't want him to qualify anyway.^[39]

2011 rule change

In June 2011, the SEC presidents and chancellors unanimously passed a new conference rule that on its face prohibits teams from signing more than 25 players—the per-season limit for new scholarship players at FBS schools—to letters of intent per season. This overruled a unanimous vote by the league's coaches days earlier calling for the previous limit of 28 to be retained. However, it was noted that the new rule, although apparently strict, had obvious loopholes. For example, "back-counting"—counting players who enter at the start of one school year against the prior year's allotment under certain circumstances—is still allowed. Also, a school can sign 25 players even if that would put it over the NCAA limit of 85 total scholarship players in the coming season. By contrast, the Big Ten prohibits its members from signing more than three players above the 85-scholarship limit. Perhaps most significantly, the SEC did not outlaw grayshirting.^[40]

External links

• 2011-12 NCAA Division I Manual
• Oversigning.com
• ESPN Outside the Lines report on oversigning

References

1. ^ NCAA. "2011-2012 NCAA Division I Manual". NCAA. http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D112.pdf. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Staples, Andy (February 25, 2009). "Coaches Play the Curious Game of Oversigning in College Football". CNNSI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus/02/24/oversigning/. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Karp, Hannah (November 25, 2010). "Former Players Say Saban Twisted the Truth". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704243904575630593438793612.html. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Doyel, Gregg (August 8, 2010). "Bad Guys Utilize Over-signing, and it Has to Stop". CBS Sports. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/13727507/bad-guys-utilize-oversigning-and-it-has-to-stop. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Andrew Carter (February 4, 2011). "Florida State Doesn’t Plan to Greyshirt Any Incoming Recruits". The Orlando Sentinel. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_fsu/2011/02/florida-state-doesn%E2%80%99t-plan-to-greyshirt-any-incoming-recruits.html. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Over the Limit". ESPN, Outside the Lines. December 19, 2010. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5935634&categoryid=2564308. 
7. ^ Thayer Evans (July 9, 2010). "Top Recruit Goes to Miami After Release From U.S.C.". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/sports/ncaafootball/10henderson.html. 
8. ^ Brown, C.L. (June 7, 2011). "Louisville's Kyle Kuric, Chris Smith and Elisha Justice will be basketball walk-ons". The Courier-Journal. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110607/SPORTS02/306070066. Retrieved June 24, 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} Brown, C.L. (June 7, 2011). "Scholarship shift for Louisville basketball makes 3 returners walkons". The Courier-Journal. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110607/SPORTS02/306070063/Scholarship-shift-Louisville-basketball-makes-3-returners-walkons. Retrieved June 24, 2011. 
10. ^ Crawford, Eric (June 7, 2011). "Louisville basketball will have best walk-ons in nation". The Courier-Journal. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110607/COLUMNISTS02/306070123. Retrieved June 24, 2011. 
11. ^ "Season Box Score". Louisville 2010–11 Men's Basketball Season Statistics. University of Louisville Athletics. http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/teamcume.html#TEAM.IND. Retrieved June 24, 2011.  The four players with higher scoring averages than Smith were Preston Knowles (graduated), Kuric, Peyton Siva (returning), and Terrence Jennings (left for the NBA draft).
12. ^ EATON-ROBB, PAT. AP. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=13929839. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
13. ^ Low, Chris (May 24, 2010). "SEC Leads the Way in Oversigning Players". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/10976/sec-leads-the-way-in-oversigning-players. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Low, Chris (February 9, 2010). "Exceeding 25 Signees the Rule in the SEC". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/8867/exceeding-25-signees-the-rule-in-the-sec. 
15. ^ "Georgia and Alabama". Oversigning.com. October 7, 2010. http://oversigning.com/testing/index.php/tag/mark-richt/. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
16. ^ "Recruiting Numbers". Oversigning.com. http://oversigning.com/testing/index.php/recruiting-numbers/. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
17. ^ Bernie Machen (February 1, 2011). "Florida President: Grayshirting is Morally Reprehensible Practice". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/01/31/bernard.machen.letter/index.html. 
18. ^ Staples, Andy (May 29, 2009). "New SEC Ban Means Oversigning is Nearing its End Nationwide". CNNSI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/andy_staples/05/29/oversigning/index.html. 
19. ^ Solomon, Jon (February 3, 2010). "SEC Teams Adjust to 'Houston Nutt Rule'". The Birmingham News. http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/02/sec_teams_adjust_to_houston_nu.html. 
20. ^ Karp, Hannah; Everson, Darren (September 24, 2010). "Alabama's Unhappy Castoffs". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703384204575509901468451306-lMyQjAxMTAwMDIwNDEyNDQyWj.html. 
21. ^ Kausler Jr., Don. "Saban defends Alabama's use of medical scholarships". The Birmingham News. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/09/saban_defends_alabamas_use_of.html. Retrieved 2 November 2011. 
22. ^ Estes, Gentry (August 5, 2009). "Nick Saban Opens Camp by Finally Clearing up Alabama's Roster Attrition". Press-Register. http://blog.al.com/bamabeat/2009/08/nick_saban_opens_camp_by_final.html. 
23. ^ Estes, Gentry. "Tide linebackers Brandon Fanney and Prince Hall suspended for start of spring practice". Mobile Press-Register. http://blog.al.com/bamabeat/2009/03/tide_linebackers_brandon_fanne.html. Retrieved 2 November 2011. 
24. ^ Estes, Gentry. "Departing Tide player Alonzo Lawrence is headed to Southern Miss". Mobile Press-Register. http://blog.al.com/bamabeat/2009/08/departing_tide_player_alonzo_l.html. 
25. ^ Herndon, Mike. "Former Tide CB Alonzo Lawrence leaves Southern Miss". Mobile Press-Register. http://blog.al.com/press-register-sports/2010/06/former_tide_cb_alonzo_lawrence.html. 
26. ^ Rapoport, Ian (April 15, 2008). "Saban vs. Rapoport: The Numbers Game". The Birmingham News. http://blog.al.com/rapsheet/2008/04/playing_the_numbers_game.html. 
27. ^ Mandel, Stewart (February 4, 2011). "Decoding Nick Saban's Surprising Diatribe in Defense of Oversigning". CNNSI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/02/04/saban-oversigning/index.html. 
28. ^ Kausler, Don, Jr. (February 2, 2011). "Saban Defends Practices of Oversigning and Grayshirting". The Birmingham News. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/saban_defends_practices_of_ove.html. 
29. ^ Scarbinsky, Kevin (February 6, 2011). "Scarbinsky: Alabama's Don't-Tell Policy Hurts Saban's Oversigning Defense". The Birmingham News. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/scarbinsky_alabamas_dont-tell.html. 
30. ^ Staples, Andy (August 5, 2010). "NCAA needs to sort out priorities, focus on the big picture". CNNSI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/08/05/ncaa-priorities/index.html. 
31. ^ Trahan, Ken (April 15, 2010). "St. Paul's DE Bates signs with Illinois". NewOrleans.com. http://www.neworleans.com/sports/lsu/373391-st-pauls-de-bates-signs-with-illinois.html. 
32. ^ "Time to Gear up for the Oversigning Cup". Oversigning.com. January 6, 2011. http://oversigning.com/testing/index.php/2011/01/06/time-to-gear-up-for-the-oversigning-cup/. 
33. ^ "Unofficial 2011 Scholarship Breakdown". Rivals.com. http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1017&CID=646864. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
34. ^ Towers, Chip (February 15, 2011). "Ten@10: Georgia not winning as many recruiting battles in South Carolina". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/02/15/ten10-georgia-not-winning-as-many-battles-in-south-carolina. 
35. ^ Phil Kornblut (July 23, 2010). "Georgia DE Commits to USC". The State. http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/23/1388787/mauldin-makes-the-call-for-usc.html. 
36. ^ Towers, Chip (February 24, 2011). "‘Shoved away’ due to oversigning, Lorenzo Mauldin still hopes to end up at South Carolina". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/02/24/shoved-away-due-to-oversigning-lorenzo-mauldin-still-hopes-to-end-up-at-south-carolina. 
37. ^ ^{a b} Karp, Hannah and Everson, Darren (March 1, 2011). "SEC Coaches Defend 'Oversigning'". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704444604576172954187357370.html. 
38. ^ ^{a b} Towers, Chip (March 3, 2011). "Ten@10: Major recruiting scandals threaten college football". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/03/03/ten10-major-recruiting-scandals-threaten-college-football. 
39. ^ Towers, Chip (March 21, 2011). "Lorenzo Mauldin inks with Louisville, puts S. Carolina oversigning saga behind him". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/03/21/lorenzo-mauldin-signs-with-louisville-puts-s-carolina-behind-him. 
40. ^ Low, Chris (June 3, 2011). "New oversigning rules won't ruin SEC". College Football Nation Blog. ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/42750/new-oversigning-rules-wont-ruin-sec. Retrieved July 10, 2011.