Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Much was made of the NCAA's decision to ban satellite camps in early April, and there's no ques- tion that the ruling will have an impact on the national recruiting scene moving forward. However, that was not the only noteworthy decision that came out of the organization's annual meetings. The Division I Council also adopted a proposal that will allow institutions to cover round-trip travel costs for the parents or legal guardians of prospec- tive student-athletes on official visits. It's a ruling that essentially will be a game- changer for a program like Notre Dame that often is asking parents to book expensive cross-country flights to accompany their sons on an official visit. "The biggest challenge we have is that we re- cruit nationally," Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Mike Elston said. "We don't have a great founda- tion of guys to choose from like a Georgia has in Georgia or a Ohio State does in Ohio. "So for us to be able to recruit nationally from California to Florida and Texas — we have to bring families in to help make that decision, because it's a tough decision to go from California to Notre Dame. And now that we can pay for the families to come, that's going to have a huge impact." Previous NCAA rules stated that schools could only foot the bill for the prospective student-athlete's travel on official visits. While that wasn't much of a problem for schools that recruited regionally and could ask parents to simply drive to campus, it was a challenge for the Irish. Take this past recruiting cycle for example. Notre Dame was able to lure Savannah (Ga.) Christian School five-star wide receiver Demetris Robertson to South Bend the weekend of Sept. 5 for the Texas game. The Irish were hoping that his mother or brother would be able to make the trip with him, but he ended up traveling alone. That wasn't the case when the nation's top-ranked athlete visited Georgia, however. Robertson and a number of family members were able to make the four-hour drive from Savannah to Athens in late March for an extended stay on campus. It was a visit that ultimately put the Irish at a disadvantage when it comes to the decision-making process. The proposal is still pending potential board of directors consideration, but is set to go into effect Aug. 1. That means that Notre Dame could start seeing the benefits of paying to have two parents or legal guardians on campus for official visits as early as the home opener Sept. 10 against Nevada. — Andrew Ivins Recruiting coordinator Mike Elston said an NCAA proposal that will allow schools to cover travel expenses for parents of recruits will make a huge impact for the Irish if approved. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS NCAA Proposal Could Benefit Notre Dame