The Lions' Pride

I have read the article and many other similar articles and communications from universities, and posted Baylor's email to boosters a month or so ago on this very forum.

You said: Honestly I think the NCAA bans twitter in the near future. And don't start with the they can't do that arguement.

Based on the article and your quote I interpreted this to mean you believe the NCAA is going to tell recruits they cannot use twitter. That is not going to happen, or be effective if they attempt to do so, anymore than "banning" text messages has been.

I think they will put a policy in place that greatly limits coaches using facebook, which is a current loophole to get around the texting rules, and twitter (again they only get caught if the recruit squeals), but they are not naive enough to think they can tell recruits and fans not to communicate via social media. If they did every player would have to be investigated and they are not going to waste their hard earned money trying to distinguish between boosters and imaginary internet avatars.

You lost me.

So I create @BigDaddyPSUBooster69 on twitter and tell every kid with an offer to commit to PSU, the NCAA can do what exactly?

The thing is tho, with twitter anybody can pretend to be anyone.. I could create a twitter account named psu2013 and even use your avatar from here to start hassling recruits, eventually it will probably come out that it isnt you, but the speed at which info travels and is available, alot of damage can be done in a short period of time.. I agree I could see the NCAA banning twitter for players and coaches, but there is no way they can ban it for unsigned kids, and thats where the problem exists.. Also, I fully understand the gray area communicating with recruits on social media presents, but what kind of kid is gonna commit to a school because some random guy on twitter and facebook told him to go there..

I honestly hope the next time the NCAA hands out sanctions on some school, they tag these sanctions on to them just as extras because they can. That would be hilarious. Especially to watch the tweeters get hunted down and beat the hell out of, especially if it was the SEC school.

Like getting arrested for jaywalking..

Per there regulations, they can handout sanctions to the school receiving the "benefit". You can whine about it, call it stupid or unfair, but the bottom line is that our school has agreed to follow all rules and regulations of the NCAA. That, technically, is breaking the rules, so they could punish us however they see fit.

To suggest that we should be able to do that because it is unenforcable (false) is ignorant. Just like in my example that you didn't get.

So if I just change PSU to OSU I can get them in trouble? Sweet! Hopefully none of their fans think of that.

I think it's ignorant to suggest it is enforcable. So I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I still don't see how your example is even remotely close. The NCAA doesn't know who @BigDaddyPSUBooster69 is and can't find out. It could be anyone. That's the point you are missing.

I don't believe the NCAA can do it -- sure, it is possible from a technical perspective, but to really trace it back they'd need subpoena power and the NCAA doesn't have it. They have no more power to trace anything than you or I.

The point is, the NCAA has power, not debatable. But the NCAA is also run by older guys who probably dont have a grasp on technology that people in there 20's and 30's do.. The NCAA isnt more powerful than the internets..

Most people are not smart enough to mask their IP. And let's be honest... it's not like there will be one guy doing this. The NCAA has plenty of idiots to choose from.

Im sorry im lost now, what exactly are you arguing? Are you suggesting the NCAA will pick and choose which fake people they will track, or are you saying they will just spend all the time and money it will take to track all the fake people on twitter?

It isn't hard to disguise an IP address. Or use a public computer, or 100 other possibilities.

The NCAA might watch for re-tweets from coaches, and may even be able to come up with a list of twitter aliases for "big-time" boosters and watch for re-tweets, but watching out for generic fans in unenforceable. I agree, the NCAA is going to expect coaching staffs to discourage it as much as possible, if that, and that is all. Anybody hear the NCAA making any statements about Twitter? I doubt it b/c they don't have the resources or manpower to effectively do anything about it even if they wanted to.