Assistant coaches can give their thumbs a rest.  The NCAA Board of Directors voted 13-3 to eliminate text-messaging between coaches and recruits. The proposal, sponsored by the Ivy Group, takes effect August 1 only affects Division I institutions, though Division II will consider a proposal for 2008.

The deciding factor for the Board members was the desire of the student-athletes. The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members spoke out in favor of the proposal in many different venues, including a luncheon Board members had with the SAAC members in January.

Several Board members mentioned both their conversations with the SAAC members at Convention in which student-athletes called the practice intrusive and said it was overused. The student-athletes also convinced Board members that text-messaging and similar forms of communication were inappropriate forms of communication between a coach and a prospect.

"The board was swayed very much by what the student-athletes had to say," said David Berst, Board Vice President. "We heard anecdotal stories of someone waking up and having 52 text messages."

The proposal eliminates all forms of electronic communication with the exception of e-mail and facsimiles. The Board left open the possibility of considering proposals related to this issue in the future.

"I think it recognized there may be other ways of monitoring communications in the future, so it's open to proposals," Berst said. "But, for now, text messages have been eliminated."

In Division II, the Presidents Council agreed to sponsor a proposal for the 2008 Convention that would increase the number of core courses required for initial eligibility from 14 to 16. If approved by the membership at the Convention, the legislation would become effective in August 2013. The proposal requires one of the additional two courses to be taken in either English, math, or natural or physical science. The other additional course may be from any core area.

The Division II Presidents Council also sponsored a legislative package for the 2008 Convention that includes a proposal to facilitate membership from selected Canadian institutions and a proposal to eliminate text and instant messaging in Division II as well.