The NCAA sent a memo to college football programs after Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney made public tampering accusations against Ole Miss in late February.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger first reported the memo. Jon Duncan, the NCAA’s vice president of enforcement, directed his staff to “pursue significant penalties” against any personnel or teams found to engage in tampering.
“Communications of any kind are not permitted with a student-athlete at another school – or any other representatives of their interests, including agents – before that student-athlete enters the NCAA Transfer Portal,” the memo stated.
“If a coach is contacted by an agent of a student-athlete who is not in the Transfer Portal, any further continuation of that discussion is considered a rules violation.”
The rule seems straightforward. If a player isn’t in the transfer portal, other programs can’t talk to him.
But the Big Ten Conference disagrees with how clear these rules actually are.
Big Ten Challenges NCAA Enforcement
The Big Ten sent a letter to the NCAA asking the organization to pause tampering investigations and revamp its rules. ESPN obtained the letter, which claims the “current framework for tampering rules cannot be credibly or equitably enforced.”
The conference argues that tampering rules are outdated. They were created before NIL deals and unlimited transfers changed college football.
“These rules were not designed for a world in which student-athletes are compensated market participants making annual decisions with significant economic consequences. The collision between the old rules and new reality is producing outcomes that harm the population that the rules were designed to protect.”
Multiple officials told ESPN’s Max Olson that programs feel pressured to break tampering rules to stay competitive.
“It’s essentially a competitive disadvantage to not tamper,” one official said.
An unidentified SEC general manager was even more direct. “If you’re not doing that, you’re so far behind in the game.”
The Big Ten raises some legitimate concerns about enforcement timelines and how quickly transfer deals get completed. Some players also receive “do not contact” designations early in the transfer window, which creates confusion.
Ohio State nearly lost Jeremiah Smith to the transfer portal after their Cotton Bowl loss.
However, much of the letter reads like the anonymous officials’ comments to ESPN. The system is broken, so everyone should cheat rather than fixing the actual problems.
The Big Ten makes fair points about updating policies for today’s college football landscape. But asking the NCAA to stop investigating tampering violations goes too far.
If everyone breaks the rules and following them creates a competitive disadvantage, strict enforcement would still punish rule breakers. Even if the rules need updates.
Breaking Rules Shouldn’t Be Strategy
Many coaches, players and race car drivers have used the phrase “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” over the years. While fans might understand that mindset, it undermines the entire concept of having rules.
The idea suggests programs know what the rules are but plan to break them until they get caught.
An offensive lineman holding when he thinks the ref won’t see it is different from intentionally tampering with a player who’s enrolled at another school. One is a split-second decision during competition. The other is a deliberate violation of recruitment rules.
The rules shouldn’t operate on an “ask for forgiveness, not permission” basis. Programs seem to weigh securing talented players above following established guidelines.
The Big Ten’s letter essentially argues “let us keep cheating until you change the rules.”
Conferences and programs can disagree with current tampering rules. They can ask the NCAA to consider reasonable changes when updating policies.
But there’s no logical argument that makes “you can’t talk to players enrolled elsewhere” confusing.
The rule is simple: if he’s not in the transfer portal, you can’t contact him.
