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SEC Eliminates Satellite Camp Ban in Hopes of Seeing End to ‘Recruiting Tours’

By Michael Collins

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The SEC has fired the latest shot in the war over football satellite camps, ending their ban on coaches hosting such camps.

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While the SEC has requested that a national ban be placed on satellite football camps, they have in the meantime given their coaches the ability to be on a level playing field with the certain other conferences and coaches by lifting the ban on coaches hosting camps outside a 50-mile radius from their schools.

At this week’s annual spring meeting in Destin, Fl., the SEC athletic directors voted to drop those restrictions and give their coaches freedom to venture into enemy territory for football camps. This is, for the time being, considered a stop-gap approach until the national proposal presented by the SEC has been put to a vote.

The SEC’s proposal would in essence be identical to the restriction that was just lifted, banning coaches from working as a “guest” at any camp that is more than 50 miles away from their institution. The ACC is now the lone conference who does not allow its coaches to take part in such camps.

The hope is that with these rules in place, we will see an end to what has been referred to as “recruiting tours”, taking coaches from stop to stop all over the country in hopes of snagging some talent from areas outside of their typical recruiting footprint.

“In the areas we recruit, we typically get all those kids from those areas to campus if they’re really serious,” said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, via AL.com “I guess it’s a selfish position somewhat. I kind of like it the way it is for us.”

Jul 17, 2014; Hoover, AL, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze talks to the media during the SEC Football Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama head coach Nick Saban questioned the logic of having a dead period of recruiting in the summer months that was loopholed by coaches in these so-called satellite camps.

“We have a lot of crazy rules,” Saban said. “A head coach is not allowed to go out during an evaluation period in the spring. But you can go have a satellite camp anywhere in the country to bring your staff in and bring players to it? Does that make any sense to anybody?

“I think we should have recruiting periods and evaluation periods, and the only time that you should be able to have a camp is on your campus. If a player’s interested enough to come to your camp on your campus, then that should be the way it is.”

For the SEC’s national proposal to pass it would have to receive a majority vote from the 10 conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Power-5 conferences — SEC, ACC, Pac-12, Big Ten and Big 12 – each have votes that count double.

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