vcboy2000 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 The relationships that boosters have with athletic departments and athletes has been a hot topic lately in the aftermath of the Bomar situation at OU. It's really got me thinking about how this could have happened at any school, including ORU. What's a coach supposed to do when his players are at a restaurant and someone sees them and offers to pick up the tab . I'm sure the players are probably educated about these things extensively, but what about the fans? It seems like we could all be considered boosters according to the NCAA. With so many rules out there how can we be sure we don't cross the line if we don't even know where the line is? If Terry wants to hire somebody in his company who just happens to be related to Marchello Vealy, is that grounds for an NCAA investigation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 While your concern is VERY legitimate, vcb, there are a couple of ways that ORU attempts to educate their fans, at least somewhat, in the nuances of NCAA regulations. First, on the ORUGoldenEagles.com website, on the left side under "ALUMNI/FAN INFO", is the link Booster Guidebook. While I haven't read through all of the information posted there thoroughly, I believe it contains a lot of the stuff you were talking about (although I'm not sure whether the question about hiring of relatives is covered!). Secondly, each year, at at least one of the pre-game dinners, Mike Carter or another representative of the athletic department will go over the NCAA rules that pertain to fans and boosters. So, while these things may not necessarily come to the attention of the casual fan, there ARE places where ORU is trying to educate their fans regarding NCAA regulations. I would hope that the players are also being educated in this regard - like in your example, it would be very easy, even natural, for a fan to see a group of players eating at a restaurant and offer to pick up the tab. If neither knows they are breaking the rules in doing so, a violation could occur innocently. I'm sure that the players are well versed in that's legal and what's not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orumom Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 If in doubt....ask? Just call the athletic dept and ask for the compliance director. We used to be the wing backers for the 7th floor of EMR and had to ask a lot of questions. As long as what I gave them was given to every student on the floor and was homemade, I was good. Which explains 96 carmeled apples at a time, 12 dozen chocolate chip cookies at a time, and tens of care packages before mid-terms & finals every semester (I would take 2 days vacation to get them ready each time) The Carters picked up a female athlete at the airport to give her a ride to campus several years ago and "bought" her a sandwich. It turned out to be a violation. If they had made her a sandwich, it would have been ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 It's not the rules (some of which are ridiculous) that bother me, it's the extremely selective enforcement. I'm not a OU hater (or a UT fan) but something in Norman doesn't smell right first. First the Kelvin Sampson violations, baseball blowup, now this?... how do the OU AD and compliance director still have jobs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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