There’s some potentially not-so-great news coming out of Fayetteville, the result and extent of which is still to be determined.
According to a report from Arkansasnews.com, the Razorbacks program might be self-reporting some secondary violations in the near future. A group of recruits on an official visit over the weekend were seen in a photograph wearing Arkansas home jerseys and standing in front of a set of lockers with personalized name plates. While the act may seem hardly noteworthy on the surface, NCAA bylaws state that a school “may not permit a prospective student-athlete to engage in any game-day simulations … during an official visit.”
More specifically ...
“Personalized recruiting aids include any decorative items and special additions to any location the prospective student-athlete will visit (e.g. hotel room, locker room, coach’s office, conference room, arena) regardless of whether the items include the prospective student-athlete’s name or picture.”
It’s unknown as to whether the jerseys had the recruits’ names on the back, but given the latter specification, it doesn’t appear to matter; simulating any kind of game day atmosphere is considered an infraction. If nothing else, five of the players’ names are seen on the name plates in the photo, potentially constituting a secondary violation within itself.
Arkansas officials have stated that they are looking into the situation and, if there is indeed a violation, will report it to the NCAA.
The article also notes that, according to a separate USA Today report, coaches who commit a secondary recruiting violation could be suspended by the NCAA for one or more games. The suspension “isn’t automatic” and depends on the details of the infraction -- which range from exceeding the NCAA time limit on phone calls to a recruit, to *ahem* paying money to a recruit ...
Yeah ...