Commitments Not What They Used To Be
I remember it as if it were yesterday.
I was sitting at my desk in the newsroom of the old Salt Lake Tribune building on Main Street when the sports information director at the University of Connecticut called and asked if I had a minute to talk to coach Jim Calhoun.
"You mean, the coach Jim Calhoun?" I said, trying not to fall victim to an office prank.
Ten seconds later, the legendary coach of the UConn Huskies was asking how I was doing.
"Fine," I stammered.
Then Calhoun brought up the name Travis Knight, and it suddenly occurred to me why the well-known coach wanted to talk to a young high school writer thousands of miles away on an April morning in 1992.
"Travis has committed to us," Calhoun said sternly. "He has reaffirmed that commitment publicly dozens of times. But the University of Utah [coaching staff] won't leave him alone. I want you to write an article about how unethical that is. [Utah coach] Rick Majerus is trying to steal one of my recruits."
A few days before that, I had interviewed Knight, a 6-foot-11 forward from Alta High, after the high school all-star games and he told me he was still committed to UConn, but "there's a chance I might change my mind and end up at Utah."
Suffice to say, when that article got back to Connecticut, Calhoun wasn't happy.
"Utah won't leave the kid alone," he said. "This is one of the most unethical deals I have seen in all my years of coaching."
Calhoun needn't have worried. A few weeks later, Knight signed with the Huskies. He had a fine career at UConn and spent several seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
The point of my story?
Times have changed.
Oral commitments, like that one Knight made more than 15 years ago, are no longer as firm as they once were. Nowadays, promises made by recruits are broken right and left. A few years ago, the term "soft commitment" made its way into the recruiting jargon. Now that's an oxymoron!
Also, it is no longer considered all that unethical for colleges coaching staffs to continue to recruit an athlete after he or she has made a commitment.
Case in point: Bingham tight end Austin Holt committed to BYU last February, but has been recruited hard by schools such as Florida, UCLA and Stanford. Just last month, Holt was a guest of honor at Florida's famed "Friday Night Lights" workouts at The Swamp. Nobody batted an eye.
I talked to the University of Utah's football recruiting coordinator, Dave Schramm, the other day and he confirmed that recruiting has changed immensely the past few years, mostly due to the effects of the Internet.
"Nowadays, with recruiting being what it is, nothing is over until the signing date," Shramm said. "Nothing is binding until national letter of intent day, so guys can really do whatever they want. It's a different world now. I mean, 10 years ago you didn't have the Internet. It is amazing, all the information on recruits that is out there now. Some of it you can actually believe."
I was sitting at my desk in the newsroom of the old Salt Lake Tribune building on Main Street when the sports information director at the University of Connecticut called and asked if I had a minute to talk to coach Jim Calhoun.
"You mean, the coach Jim Calhoun?" I said, trying not to fall victim to an office prank.
Ten seconds later, the legendary coach of the UConn Huskies was asking how I was doing.
"Fine," I stammered.
Then Calhoun brought up the name Travis Knight, and it suddenly occurred to me why the well-known coach wanted to talk to a young high school writer thousands of miles away on an April morning in 1992.
"Travis has committed to us," Calhoun said sternly. "He has reaffirmed that commitment publicly dozens of times. But the University of Utah [coaching staff] won't leave him alone. I want you to write an article about how unethical that is. [Utah coach] Rick Majerus is trying to steal one of my recruits."
A few days before that, I had interviewed Knight, a 6-foot-11 forward from Alta High, after the high school all-star games and he told me he was still committed to UConn, but "there's a chance I might change my mind and end up at Utah."
Suffice to say, when that article got back to Connecticut, Calhoun wasn't happy.
"Utah won't leave the kid alone," he said. "This is one of the most unethical deals I have seen in all my years of coaching."
Calhoun needn't have worried. A few weeks later, Knight signed with the Huskies. He had a fine career at UConn and spent several seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
The point of my story?
Times have changed.
Oral commitments, like that one Knight made more than 15 years ago, are no longer as firm as they once were. Nowadays, promises made by recruits are broken right and left. A few years ago, the term "soft commitment" made its way into the recruiting jargon. Now that's an oxymoron!
Also, it is no longer considered all that unethical for colleges coaching staffs to continue to recruit an athlete after he or she has made a commitment.
Case in point: Bingham tight end Austin Holt committed to BYU last February, but has been recruited hard by schools such as Florida, UCLA and Stanford. Just last month, Holt was a guest of honor at Florida's famed "Friday Night Lights" workouts at The Swamp. Nobody batted an eye.
I talked to the University of Utah's football recruiting coordinator, Dave Schramm, the other day and he confirmed that recruiting has changed immensely the past few years, mostly due to the effects of the Internet.
"Nowadays, with recruiting being what it is, nothing is over until the signing date," Shramm said. "Nothing is binding until national letter of intent day, so guys can really do whatever they want. It's a different world now. I mean, 10 years ago you didn't have the Internet. It is amazing, all the information on recruits that is out there now. Some of it you can actually believe."
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