Text messaging and other forms of communication long ago supplanted the telephone for prospective recruits, but coaches who received texts from recruits were prohibited from replying. Photo by Alton

By Matt Higgins

The ever-changing technological landscape has drastically altered the way today's teenagers interact. Text messaging has replaced phone calls and even e-mail as their preferred method of communication. However, NCAA Division III legislation has restricted coaches from using text messaging as a recruiting tool, causing some to say, "OMG," and others to: "LOL," in disbelief.

That all changed at the 2012 NCAA Convention business session in Indianapolis on Jan. 14. Division III delegates voted in overwhelming support to deregulate text messaging, effective immediately. Texting will now be regulated in the same manner as conventional recruiting methods such as phone calls, e-mails and faxes and, already, many coaches throughout the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference have expressed that the new legislation is: "2G2BT," or: "too good to be true."

"This is very important for us," said Brad Marshall, St. Catherine head women's hockey coach, regarding the deregulation of text messaging in recruiting. "As far as my sport goes, it seems like if you text a prospect, she'll get back to you 45 seconds later. I can e-mail a girl, which now also goes to her phone, but it takes five days for a response. This helps to keep the lines of communication open. It's a fast, instant method of communication."

Surprising support

Heading into the Division III business session, the text messaging component was one of the most talked-about pieces of legislation on the table. When text messaging was originally regulated, concerns included cost (recruits without unlimited text messaging plans), over-use by coaches and mass texts, texting at inappropriate hours, the associated level of professionalism and - even a few years ago - texting still wasn't as commonplace as it is today.

Eventually, the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee put their support behind the proposal, which was put forth by the Division III Management Council. According to a recap of the business session on NCAA.org, SAAC became comfortable with approving text messaging in recruiting because it had become the norm in terms of communication. The Division III Presidents' Council also backed the proposal, giving it significant momentum heading into Indy.

The result was likely the most memorable - and surprising - vote of the 2012 session. The legislation was moved by former St. Olaf College President Chris Thomforde, now president at Moravian College and a member of the Management Council, with popular text message abbreviations (OMG, LOL, etc.) humorously peppered throughout the movement and rationale. Despite some of the debate and concerns heading into the Convention, the motion passed with overwhelming support, 418-44-5.

"I expected it to pass, I just didn't expect it to pass that easily," said Matt McDonald, athletic director and head baseball coach at St. Olaf, who was among the MIAC contingent present at the business session. "I thought people would stand up and speak against it, but it was really well-supported.

"I'm relieved. I don't know how many times over the past few years I've received a text from a recruit, then you have to turn around and call them. It was frustrating to operate that way. I have children who are 21 and 15 and I understand how kids communicate. This is going to be a huge time-saver for kids and coaches."

St. Benedict head women's basketball coach Mike Durbin called the change, "long overdue," and is excited that recruiting practices are starting to catch up to recent advances in technology.

"This is a long overdue change," Durbin said. "I understand why it maybe took awhile, given SAAC's reluctance and some other factors, but I think it's just another way or option to communicate ... I communicate with my current team through text messages. I know they have their phones with them and will respond.

"We've moved into the 21st century. Now we're allowing students and coaches to communicate with one another in the way in which they best communicate."

A secondary strategy

It would be easy to imagine coaches getting cramps or carpal tunnel syndrome in their fingers and thumbs as they furiously try to catch up with the times, bombarding recruits with pleas to attend their schools. Actually, that image was one reason texts weren't allowed until last week, but coaches seem to be in consensus that - at the Division III level - this new avenue will only be a side street to securing commitments, not the main thoroughfare.

"I think people will use common sense," McDonald said. "The people who gave texting a bad rap in the first place were ... coaches who would blister kids with three text messages a day. I don't think people in Division III or the MIAC will go to that extent."

McDonald, Durbin and Marshall all agreed the new legislation wouldn't drastically alter the recruiting strategies they've had in place for years. Instead, the allowance of texting would simply make things easier to send a quick thought or message with a higher probability of a short, timely response, and a more efficient ways to confirm things like campus visit times and locations, application deadlines and other detail-related items.

"The face-to-face communication will always be the best way [to recruit,]" McDonald said, emphasizing how imperative relationship-building is in recruiting. "I've never been a big believer in e-mail, and now in texting, as a great tool to help convince someone to visit or attend your school. I don't see myself texting recruits even every-other day. Maybe just occasionally.

"It certainly won't be the bread-and-butter communication tool of our recruiting process."

Durbin also views texting as a secondary way to keep in contact with prospective student-athletes, but a necessary one to level the playing field with campus admissions offices, which haven't faced the same regulations and have implemented texting into their recruiting process. He plans to go about his recruiting business as he always has, only now equipped with one more tool along the way.

"I don't think it will be the primary [way to communicate,]" Durbin said. "Given the way admissions offices use it with students in general to such a high degree, it became confusing. This is just how students communicate.

"I know I'm going to continue to call and visit and use those methods as primary methods of recruiting and use text messaging as a supplement. I don't think anyone will be successful if texting is their primary recruiting strategy. The hand-written note, the phone call, going to games and watching kids play will still be my strategic approach ... I know [recruits] will be getting a lot of texts from D-III schools so, certainly at the front end, I'm going to use it in a passive and sincere acknowledgement of my communication with students."

For Marshall, texting offers a way for him to bridge the geographic gap between St. Catherine and the talented hockey recruits spread across Minnesota and beyond.

"In my sport, we're all recruiting the same kids, especially the Minnesota girls," he said. "This just adds another dimension to contact them. Instead of having to call or drive to a place like Grand Rapids, I can shoot them a text and hear back shortly. It's another form of keeping in contact."

Setting a standard

The allowance of text messaging in Division III recruiting has created a fine line for coaches to straddle. It's clear most want to take advantage of the new communication tool, but many are genuinely conscious of not going too far the other way and bombarding recruits with too many texts or at inappropriate hours. The result will likely be a lot of trial and error by coaches as they attempt to fine-tune their strategy to incorporate texting into their existing recruiting game plans.

For some, it didn't take long. Immediately after the legislation was adopted, Marshall implemented his own text messaging restrictions for himself and his coaching staff to ensure they utilize the new tool in an effective, yet respectful, manner.

"For my staff, what I don't want is for us to be harassing recruits," Marshall said. "What I've done with my staff is allowed us to send text messages from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. If a recruit texts us first during other hours, we can text back, but we don't foresee that happening often. And then, we'd just keep it short and sweet and to the point. The best texts are straightforward and don't need to get personal. We will keep it professional and keep it short.

"In the back of your mind, you think about whether or not the kid has unlimited messaging. We'll ask permission to text them occasionally. This will be really good for our girls who are either on the fence or who have already committed so we can just keep in touch."

Durbin has a strikingly similar outlook on how he plans to incorporate texting. He'll police himself and his staff at first, but he's surprised the proposal didn't come with any restrictions. He even said it may be smart for the NCAA to eventually implement some restrictions to try to limit texts to the time of day that's the least intrusive.

"I want to be ultra-respective of text messaging," Durbin said. "My feeling is, coaches shouldn't be texting recruits while they're in school. That could be a distraction. I'm not going to text in the middle of the night. I want to be respectful, but I also want student-athletes to know that I'm genuinely interested in their choosing Saint Ben's."

Already making strides

Though the new text messaging legislation in Division III is still new, coaches and administrators are already reporting significant gains on the recruiting landscape. Early attempts to reach out to recruits have yielded positive results , which makes some MIAC coaches hopeful for their future recruiting efforts.

"I'm excited about the potential, and we've already experienced success," Durbin said. "Our volleyball coach [Nicole Hess] already received a response through text from someone who wasn't responding to e-mails or phone calls. Just in the short period of time, we've seen a very high response rate that we normally have not had. We've made strides already."

"As soon as I heard it was a go I sent text messages to some recruits," Marshall added. "I received five responses back within two minutes. It goes to show you that's how they communicate."

So naturally now that texting is allowed, coaches turn their eyes to the horizon for the next potential advantage. Another proposal to deregulate recruiting on social media sites through private or direct message communication was pulled off the table prior to a vote, but it's likely that's the next direction the recruiting game could be headed in an ever-changing technological landscape.

"It's another avenue that students use to communicate," Durbin said of social networking. "As coaches, we should be able to communicate with them through those networks. I hope it's inevitable. At all Divisions, we need to be able to use what students are using, but I do think it's fair if restrictions were added to the policies."

But before the recruiting landscape becomes littered with Facebook "likes" and tweets, coaches throughout the MIAC and Division III will take to their phones in a new era of recruiting prospective student-athletes in search of the next MIAC Player-of-the-Year or Scholar-Athlete, with many coaches grateful they can now play catch-up with the times.

"This," Marshall said, "is a great step forward."

Matt Higgins is the Assistant to the Executive Director of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.