Blurring the Recruiting Lines
January 30th, 2009 - byAnyone involved in recruiting can agree that potential recruits need guidance and a realistic evaluation. However, there are many differing opinions on how this should be conducted. The high school coach? Your Parents? A 3rd Party like NCSA? What about a combination?
The recruitment of running back Bryce Brown (#14 on the Sports Illustated/Takkle Top 200 powered by NCSA) involves one of the more bizarre recruiting arrangements. His “mentor” Brian Butler has been quoted that Bryce will not be making a college decision until March. However, coaches or any interested fans are free to follow his decision process for $9.99/month on Butler’s controversial non-profit website http://www.potentialplayers.com/. ESPN’s Bruce Feldman attempted to get Butler on the phone to get a handle on his venture:
This is what I knew of Butler thanks to a Wichita Eagle story posted on his Potential Players website from 2007. He’s in his mid 30s and was managing a Wichita T-Mobile call center. And he is a minister, who in 1999 had an epiphany to help children “get closer to God.”
Butler says he turned his business into a “legitimate non-profit a couple of years ago.” Asked how one does that, he explained by doing paper work through the state and the IRS. He says he has worked with around 50 kids over the years and the main purpose is education. “I’m educating them on what it takes to be a successful high-school athlete and what it takes to be successful in college and then to be successful as a man, husband and father.”
It is an idea that — on the surface — feeds into the suspicion many people have about “advisors” and blue-chip recruits. Many cynics come away wondering the same thing: What is the end game here? Sure, other entities often charge a fee for recruiting coverage, but do they also work on behalf of those same kids they’re writing about?
As of Thursday morning, Butler says the last time he had checked, only three people have signed up.
Asked how such a service can mesh with running a non-profit, Butler replied, “I don’t do it for the non-profit. I have two businesses.”
Then his phone cut out.
After I called back, he says his other business is Life Training, which focuses on aiding the recruiting process as well as physically training athletes. He explained that Potential Players deals with more of the spiritual side and a summer tour he takes the players on. “People get confused,” he said.
Right or wrong, it’s easy to see why. The lines are getting really blurred here.
However, the scariest part of the interview is the following:
I asked if Butler checked with the NCAA or any other agency to make sure setting up the subscription service wouldn’t put his players at risk of some eligibility issues. “I’m not worried about anybody saying anything,” he answered. “The kids are not receiving any dollars from it. I’m not a kid. I’m the one benefiting. “Everything you do is criticized and scrutinized. You can’t worry about that. I just worry about doing the right thing and making the right choices.”
The reality of the situation is that Brown has put his future in the hands of someone who appears to have questionable motives. It would be a tragedy if his eligibility was compromised because of Butler. The entire episode illustrates why even the best recruits turn to professionals like NCSA to help guide them through the various twists and turns in the process.
