According to the legends, the practice was first instituted in the 1960's by Bear Bryant at Alabama. His Bear's Angels became a staple of the college recruiting landscape, and in their own way, became more famous than the recruits themselves. The groups were usually created and organized by school officials—these days they are often attached to the school admissions office—but operated in a shady netherworld as a vital part of any large program, yet detached from the athletic department in an intricate web of plausible deniability.

The groups are particularly popular in the Southeast and West and while they are sometimes affiliated with sports like basketball and baseball, they tend to focus on football recruits, which are greater in number and more valuable. Since coaches can't spend more than a few minutes with any single recruit and his family when they come for their 48-hour campus visits, it's up to the hostess to give tours, answer questions, and—in the evening when the parents go back to their own hotels—provide entertainment.

The practice went mostly unquestioned and under the radar for years, but two incidents earlier this decade brought these groups into focus. In late 2001, a female student at the University of Colorado claimed she was raped by football players and football recruits at a party she was hosting on their behalf. (It was the second such incident at CU in five years.) Then in 2003, a campus newspaper's investigation into Arizona State's all-female recruiting group revealed that members routinely supplied underage recruits with wild parties, alcohol and occasionally sex while serving as hostesses.

The ASU article revealed intriguing details about the structure of these groups and their relationships to the teams they support. The Sun Devils coach and athletic director at the time essentially admitted that they knew very little about how the group worked—and that was the way they liked it. According to then-AD Gene Smith:

"When you begin to formalize a relationship based upon a contract — that's why my wife and I don't have a prenup[tual] — you are actually challenging whether or not you have trust in that relationship. I trust our student athletes. I trust the young ladies who have volunteered to be a part of this program. I am not an individual that believes in setting up structure, setting up contracts to make an organization successful."

The team may have been responsible for the recruits' well-being while on campus, yet once they turned them over to these other students the kids were no longer in their jurisdiction. The hostesses were never given orders about what to do—remember the trust?—but they were also never told what not to do. One of the group members told the paper that the hostesses were never given guidance about what constituted a recruiting violation. After all, if they knew what the rules were, then the girls might have to follow them.

Similar tales came out of Oregon and other programs, with many women saying that while the school didn't ask them to do inappropriate things, the recruits themselves often felt entitled to more than just a nice meal. ("One high-profile recruit, she says, tried to lure her to his hotel room, saying, "The girls at Kentucky and Georgia did it.")

There are also two essential facts that every hostess group shares. One, is that they are almost universally female-only. The groups were all given cutesy names like the Texas Angels, the Hurricane Honeys, the Bengal Babes, the Stately Ladies, the Black-Eyed Susans, the Tigerettes, the Crimson Courters (Bear's Angels eventually became the 'Bama Belles) and recruit heavily from the school's sororities. (Those ladies are very big into public relations!)

And the second truth is that if they work for another school besides the one you attend, then they are all whores. (Your girls, on the other hand, are wonderful, fresh-faced ambassadors for goodness and chastity.) No one is ever told to have sex with a recruit or get him drunk or promise him that ménage à trois is basically a freshman seminar, but when a bunch of attractive horny college-age kids get together with a pony keg, nature will run its course. It doesn't take much for a recruit to fall in love with his host and, by extension, her school.

As a result of the ASU and Colorado stories (and other lurid tales of strip clubs and sexual assaults) the NCAA began to crack down on these groups, although obviously they still exist as official organizations at Tennessee and many other places. The NCAA instituted new guidelines in 2004, stating that such groups could not officially be gender specific, although they are still heavily weighted toward the ladies. Shortly after that ruling, the original 'Bama Belles were disbanded.

Risky behavior not policed in ASU football recruiting [ASU State Press, Dec. 2002]
Oregon defends recruiting practices [The Register Guard, 2002]
Doing The Legwork [Sports Illustrated, Jan. 2003]
College recruits and "hostesses": where is the line drawn? [Star Tribune]

Let's just get right to it, shall we?

A significant part of the investigation is focused on the use of recruiting hostesses who have become folk heroes on Tennessee Internet message boards for their ability to help lure top recruits.

[...]

In one case, hostesses traveled nearly 200 miles to attend a high school game in South Carolina in which at least three Tennessee recruits were playing.

Marcus Lattimore, a running back who made an unofficial visit to Tennessee but said he would not enroll there, said multiple Tennessee hostesses attended a game at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., in September. He said they brought signs, including one that read, "Come to Tennessee."

"I haven't seen no other schools do that," he said. "It's crazy."

That's about about as far as the Times article is willing to go, but clearly there is more going on than just some kids holding signs. The NCAA is interviewing current high school seniors about their interactions with the hostesses—it's quite unusual for them to instigate an inquiry on players who haven't committed to a school yet—as the girls would be considered representatives of the university and subject to all recruiting rules.

And what about those message board folk heroes? Well, there was at least one thread on VolNation.com earlier this year, paying tribute to these ladies of football mercy. It is now mysteriously missing, but a tipster was able to snag a few snippets from it. The thread was titled "Meet Your Vol Hostesses" and began with pictures, names and Facebook links for a squadron of Volunteer ladies, along with some veiled thoughts about what these girls are willing to do for their school. The first message on the thread, begins:

These are the unsung heros of recruiting. Just ask Bryce Brown.

Most of the Facebook links are dead (or private pages) as well, but at least one of these girls is not shy about her role in the recruiting process. One is Lacey Pearl Earps, whose name is well known on SEC message boards. (That's her above, with current UT freshman Bryce Brown.) According to her MySpace page, she is a student at University of Tennessee and she "recruits champions." There are numerous photos of her hugging what appear to be Tennessee football players and/or recruits. (The pictures are small, but clearly taken on a football field.)

And the most recent comment left by a friend, is from a young man named Chaz Green, saying that he "had a great visit." Chaz is a 17-year-old offensive tackle from Tampa, Florida, who is listed on Rivals.com with his top choices being Florida and ... you guessed it, Tennessee. He made his on-campus visit in October.

The Volunteers are certainly not the only school to employ these types of "hostesses" or "hospitality" girls, but the school has drawn increased scrutiny from authorities since Lane Kiffin took over the program. They've committed at least six secondary violations in less than a year and Kiffin's habit of boasting about recruits in public—and attacking the recruits of other schools—has made a lot of folks unhappy. This investigation will only shine more light on the practice, not only at UT, but across the country.

Because as Mr. Lattimore puts it, "You don't want to go to a college where they ain't pretty." Ain't that the truth?

N.C.A.A. Is Said to Inquire Widely of Tennessee's Recruiting [NY Times]
Tennessee under NCAA investigation over use of recruiting hostesses [Vol Nation]
[Top photo via Clay Travis]

UPDATE: Miss Earps and the other hostesses are actually in the Tennessee Football Media Guide. She's a captain in Orange Pride, "a group of students whose primary duty is to promote the University and its strong academic programs, rich traditions, and winning athletics program to campus visitors and potential student-athletes." (Click to enlarge the photo.)

UPDATE 2: Clay Travis, who actually knows things like "rules," breaks down what this actually means for Tennessee, specifically what it would take for any of this to be an actual recruiting violation (and how they were likely ratted out by another school.) [FanHouse]

According to an Arkansas-based Deadspin tipster, the two gents above have been stalking running back Michael Dyer and tight end Dakota Mosley of Little Rock Christian Academy, showing up at games with their stupid misspelled sign in an effort to convince the two high school boys to go to Auburn and play in offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's system. Our tipster writes:

This is the second game they have been at this year. I did take the pic and proceeded to ridicule them for their spelling prowess. A girl with them had a shirt that said "You Had Me At War Eagle"

Now, let's face it, even if these Auburn chaps are locals it doesn't make this sort of behavior any less pathetic, but if these idiots are commuting weekly from southern Alabama (And don't think for a second that they might not be!) just to kiss the asses of a couple of athletically-gifted teenagers, then that's really pathetic. However, when it comes to football recruiting, especially in the SEC, nothing would surprise me. But of course, LSU fans would never stoop to such levels. Never!

I actually sorta defended the Henrys as an unfortunate product of the NBA's silly one-and-done rule, but J. Brady McCollough's Kansas City Star article about the Henry family gave a lot of Kansas fans pause. Some say it made Jayhawk recruits Xavier and C.J. look like prima donnas and made their dad look like a demanding control freak. Dad didn't like it either and he also didn't appreciate the insinuation that he would make veiled threats towards Bill Self's program to ensure his sons get preferential treatment—so he responded by making veiled threats towards Bill Self's program.

Late yesterday, Henry hinted that he was so upset about the story—one he fully admitted was factually accurate—that the boys might change their mind about attending Kansas and maybe bolt for Kentucky or somewhere else. He announced that they would have a "family meeting" Tuesday night to decide their fate. Very late in the evening, Xavier finally texted radio host Cory Anderson saying, "I'm goin to Kansas and that's final." Crisis averted! For now.

Now some might say responding to charges of being a prima donna by acting like a prima donna, doesn't make a lot of sense—but that's the way prima donnas work. Illogical overreaction is the whole point. But thank you to Carl Henry for proving all his critics right in one burst of crazy. It's too late for the Henry boys to go anywhere else (even though Dan Shanoff's D-League suggestion makes perfect sense) but at least when things go south for the Jayhawks this season, no one can say they weren't warned.

Xavier Henry says he'll keep his commitment to KU - Kansas City Star
Ballin' is a Habit: BREAKING: Xavier Henry staying at Kansas
Xavier Henry: Why Not Try D-League? [Dan Shanoff]
2009 One-and-Dones: Was It Worth It? [Rush The Court]
"I Hope Bill Self Is Right..." [KU Sports]

Xavier should have been a lottery pick in last Thursday's NBA Draft, but the pesky age limit rule is sending him to Kansas this fall. He will be joined there by his older brother, who rode the bench at Memphis last season and jumped ship when John Calipari went to Kentucky, which didn't have room for either Henry brother because they signed John Wall, who Bill Self nearly snagged for Kansas. Got all that?

However, Xavier—unlike some of his freshman teammates—is not at Kansas yet, because he's still trying to figure out how to get to the NBA while spending as little time as possible inside an actual classroom. ("If he didn't have to go to college, he wouldn't do it," dad says.) He contemplated Europe, but that won't give him enough "exposure" and he's not desperate for the money, because C.J. is still living off a New York Yankee contract he signed four years ago. (That's why he still hasn't played college ball yet.) Plus, unlike those other chumps, he's knows he the real deal.

"If you're ready," Xavier says, "you should be able to go. But most kids that came out of high school, they weren't ready when they were supposed to be. They were just jumping to make money."

As if everyone who shook David Stern's hand last week didn't honestly believe they were the best player in the room. Dad thinks C.J. is NBA-ready too ... and he has a bad foot and hasn't played organized basketball in four years.

"I don't like stepping on people's toes," Carl says, "but I just know what I know. I watch them play, all the Kansas kids. I like all these kids, (Sherron) Collins, (Tyshawn Taylor), they're good kids, man. But they're not better than C.J." ...

"Everybody's gotta be on board," Carl says. "The coach has got to be on board."

Ok, that makes him sound like a real prick, but to be fair to Carl Henry, he is not exactly reaching Marv Marinovich/Damic Dokic territory here. (Even if that is setting the bar ridiculously low.) He knows his sons are valuable—even if he probably has an over-inflated sense of their basketball abilities—and he's going to do what he can to get the most out of the value. Good for him. But what makes people uncomfortable is that parents (or AAU coaches or "representatives") believe that they should be the ones calling the shots for a major basketball program. Even worse, they often get to.

Nothing against these kids, either. They are clearly working hard to make themselves better basketball players, and they've got talent. But they don't belong anywhere near college. They don't want to be there, they'll only stay as long as they have to, and even though Bill Self thinks he's getting a gift, programs would be wise to steer clear of obvious one and done players. (Just ask Thad Matta.) The current rules aren't helping colleges or the pros, but I feel like there will be a lot more stories like this one before they get fixed.

Getting to the pros the Henry family plan [Kansas City Star]
Carl Henry Clears the Air…Part 1 [The Shiver]
OTC: Daddy Henry Responds to Star Story But Shuns C&C [KC Confidential]
Xavier Henry: Why Not Try D-League? [Shanoff]

Evan Berry, the brother of Eric Berry, announced that he has committed to Tennessee, even though Kiffin technically hasn't offered him a scholarship because that would be a violation. Berry is the first member of the Volunteers' Class of 2013 — that's high school, not college — and he's presumably looking forward to breaking in with the varsity this fall. Again, high school.

Somehow, though, he's already talking to the press:

"It's the only college I know right now and it seems the best for me," Berry told Rivals. "My dad went there and my brother is there now. I know I can do the same things there. I have a real friendly relationship with the coaches there. I don't know them too well, but I know I will have plenty of time to get to know them."

So he doesn't know any other colleges, he doesn't know the Tennessee coaches too well and he hasn't played a snap in high school. Also, his father admits that "things happen, and four years is a long ways away." Coupled with the fact that Kiffin's staff is forbidden from offering him a scholarship — those damn "rules" get in the way of everything — this commitment seems about as real as Kiffin's chances of being in Knoxville in 2017, when Berry would be a senior in Neyland Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Berrys just "have to take it one day at a time." Start the countdown to Mini-camp 2013.

Eric Berry's brother, 13, commits to Vols [GoVolsXtra]

By Tennessee's own self-reported count, Kiffin has already committed five secondary violations since being hired by the school in January. (I don't have statistics to back this up, but I'm sure this is not an egregious number for a major program.) But his controversial reign has people buzzing, which is why ESPN decided to do an "Outside The Lines" segment on him—a segment that included a few seconds of Kiffin having a sitdown meeting with couple of recruits. And guess what ... that's another violation!

Why is that a violation? Because the media may not observe a coach having contact with a recruit. So in a story that discusses Kiffin's recruiting violations, ESPN helps him commit one, airs it on television, then calls him on it after the fact. (Bob Ley pointed out the possible violation at the end of the segment.) Even though the camera crew may not have been aware that it would be a violation when they filmed it, the producers clearly knew that it was before they aired it. So what's up with that? Isn't tWWL essentially complicit in this rule breaking?

At least they were able to clear up the controversy over Lane's gas pumping comment:

I wouldn't say anything like that. First of all, if you look at, I don't think that anybody pumps gas because everything is self-serve nowadays."

Touché. But if ESPN hadn't done enough dogpiling, they got the Oakland Raiders to chime in with their opinion of their former non-employee of the year:

Lane Kiffin is a flat-out liar. He lied to the team, he lied to the fans, and he lied to the media. He will try to destroy that university like he tried to destroy the Raiders, and will eventually clash with (Pat) Summitt and (Bruce) Pearl. Other than that, the Raiders can say nothing further."

I think they said plenty.

OTL: Kiffin's Wild Start At Tennessee [ESPN]
ESPN may have caught Kiffin in another secondary violation; Raiders take another shot at ex-coach [Go Vols]

Wall—who has still not committed to a school for next fall—was cited with breaking and entering a home last week, which I guess in Raleigh, North Carolina, is like getting a speeding ticket. He didn't actually break anything to enter and nothing was stolen and he was not detained by police, so I'm not really sure what the point of any of this is.

Authorities said Wall, 18, was charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering in connection with an April 27 break-in at a home at 3924 Laurel Glen Drive in Raleigh.

An officer saw Wall leaving from the rear of the residence and was able to detain him, police said.

Two other people were also charged. Bria Renea Draughn, 16, was detained while walking along a nearby street. Reginald Leonard Jackson II, 17, was detained when he returned to the residence, police said.

So basically, a few bored kids were caught being somewhere they weren't supposed to be. Also known as "Friday night in Raleigh."

Top high school athlete John Wall charged with breaking and entering [WRAL; Photo by C.F.Ward]

UPDATE: The current rumor is that Wall was at a house party thrown in an abandoned, foreclosed home. Squatter! [RTC]

College fans have taken to creating fan pages or groups on Facebook in an effort to lure top talent to their favorite schools. Because most players really seek out the respect and advice of 2,000 anonymous internet friends. It's a stupid idea to be sure, but it may also be a recruiting violation. North Carolina State has actually asked one of their students to remove his "John Wall PLEASE Come to NC State" group on Facebook ... and not because John Wall would never go to N.C. State in a million years.

Students, alumni, and boosters cannot contact recruits on their own and Facebook groups are totally, utterly, completely useless—but it would still be hilarious if a team got slapped because its idiot students thought they could change the world with a status update. (If would also be funny if the NCAA did anything worthwhile ever, but that's another story.)

ACC Now - Wall sparks Facebook frenzy [News and Observer]
NCSU Violates NCAA Code with John Wall Facebook Group [The Jock Itch]

The Findlay in Findlay Prep is Cliff Findlay, a UNLV booster who set up a basketball program all by himself. The players live in a house that he paid for and fully stocked with furniture, big screen TVs, food—for when they aren't eating out on the Vegas strip—and Nike clothing. (As assistant coach lives there as their babysitter.) He also pays for all their equipment and travel costs when they go to away games, and he pays (with other "investors") for the $16,000-a-year tuition at the nearby Henderson International School. They do go to school, just not one that has a basketball team. (But they do have a website and a documentary in the making!)

In other words, they get a better deal than most college basketball players, but the team itself is completely independent of any high school federation or its bylines. And it's all perfectly cool with the NCAA.

So this is pretty much what high school basketball is headed toward. Most high school teams—particularly public schools—would never be allowed to play in tourneys like the NHSI, because playing in "national" championships (or any out of state game) is not allowed. But a player can be recruited to independent programs like Findlay, get national TV exposure, lots of free crap, and none of the restrictions of playing for a stupid high school—but I'm sure they're hitting the books hard. Oh, and if a few of the players end up at Findlay's alma mater, UNLV, that's just a happy coincidence.

The best example of what these programs can do for someone is the tale of junior Tristan Thompson. Thompson—who is actually from Toronto—was playing for Bobby Hurley's other son, Dan, at St. Benedict's Prep in Newark earlier this season. He got into argument with his coach during a game and was kicked off the team on a Tuesday in February. By the following Saturday, he was already on the roster at Findaly Prep. Yes, it's that awesome.

"We stress discipline in the house, in the classroom and on the court," says [Assistant Coach Todd] Simon. "We don't claim to be like the public school down the street. But we're not a fly-by-night school that's just putting kids on the court without regard for their education. Every kid who's finished here has been academically eligible to play in college. If there could be 50 more programs like ours, I think the system would be so much better off."

I'm sure it would be. What system are we talking about again?

March Madness Comes To High School Hoops Is That A Good Thing? [Sports Illustrated]
The Season [Picture via]
Findlay Prep Basketball

As in all recruiting stories, the situation is quite complicated, but the crux of the matter is this: Josh Nochimson, a former student manager turned player agent, provided "lodging, transportation, restaurant meals and representation" to Miles during his recruitment by the Huskies. Since Nochimson is a UConn alum and former member of the basketball program he technically "represents the athletic interests" of his old school (i.e., he's a booster) and by rule he cannot "make any contact, including telephone calls and letters, to a prospect or the prospect's family, on or off campus," which records show he clearly did. Even worse—Connecticut coaches allegedly knew about the relationship and did nothing to stop it. In fact, they more than likely encouraged it. Plus, the program may also have violated several other rules by contacting Miles more than was allowed.

The relationship and UConn's knowledge of the situation are potential major NCAA violations. The findings are part of Yahoo! Sports' ongoing look into the changing role of agents and their impact on college basketball. Agents aren't just recruiting players from college programs, they are recruiting players for them, according to an NCAA official.

The UConn basketball staff was in constant contact with Nochimson during a nearly two-year period up to and after Miles' recruitment. Five different UConn coaches traded at least 1,565 phone and text communications with Nochimson, including 16 from head coach Jim Calhoun.

Nochimson became an agent after Richard Hamilton left UConn for the NBA in 1999. He became Hamilton's business manager and representative, and eventually signed with other pro players, but he was decertified as an agent last year, when Hamilton discovered that Nochimson had stolen over a million dollars from him. (When confronted, Nochimson confessed to the whole thing.) Shocking, I know.

This all sounds very bad for the Huskies and it probably should be, but Jim Calhoun haters should probably not get their hopes up. The NCAA hasn't been keen on busting major D-I programs with any serious punishments and as the organization itself admits, this is how it's done now. Agents deliver players to schools and the schools deliver them right back to the agents when they "graduate." If they ever do. Miles—who attended five different high schools in four-and-a-half years and only played one full season of prep ball—was expelled from the university a month into his first semester, after he violated a restraining order placed on him by another student. He never played a game for the Huskies, but—even after the expulsion and the incident with Hamilton—their coaches continue to be in contact with Nochimson.

Probe: UConn violated NCAA rules [Yahoo]

Every so often, it is necessary for someone to bemoan the fact that recruiting and ranking sixth grade basketball players puts untoward pressure on young people who have yet to even grow into their bodies. All it does is create unreasonable expectations that are nearly impossible to live up to. On the other hand, if there was sixth grader out there who was 6'2" and could palm a basketball wouldn't you want to know about it?

The kid of the moment is Perry Dozier Jr., a 5'6" point guard who made it to All-Star Weekend last month as part of something called the Jr. NBA team. (I don't even want to know what their salary cap is.) He's the No. 1 ranked kid in the class of 2015, he has his own website, and I have no doubt that he could beat me in one-on-one. (I'm more of a "pass first" kind of guy.)

There are many possible outcomes for his career that would be considered respectable, even great, but if he is not an NBA first-rounder at some point in the future will he be able to live with that? Will the friends and family and various "consultants" who surround him be able to? Either way, I'm sure a big splashy photo in The New York Times will not magically put less pressure on him.

Heck, the kid is from South Carolina. It'll be a miracle if he doesn't end up as a night manager at Speedway.
First Impressions Can Create Unrealistic Expectations for Young Basketball Recruits [NY Times]
Perry Dozier Jr.

A reporter at a high school basketball tournament in Missouri explains how he was waiting by himself outside a locker room where a prized recruit from North Carolina named John Wall was celebrating his team's win.* (The locker room was outside the main arena, so there was no other media around.) Wall had justwould later lead his school to the championship and was the top unsigned prospect at the eight-team tourney. (And maybe in the whole nation.) Naturally, there were coaches at the tourney, but this is an "evaluation" period when college scouts are allowed to look, but not touch.

That's what was so curious when Kansas coach Bill Self came rolling through. ... Of course, Wall is the top uncommitted recruit. Self had to know I was a reporter and even said hello to me. I just thought he'd stand there, maybe even wave to Wall to let him know he was there. Instead, when the Holy Rams poured out of the locker room, Self was excited:

Self: "Johnny, great win man. You really played well."

Wall: "Thanks."

Self: "I'm not supposed to be talking to you, and you know that, but I just wanted to tell you that was a great win."

Then Self vanished.

That my friends, however minor, is a recruiting violation. Is it true? Would Self be that blatant? Wall had 41 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in the final game, scored or assisted on his team's final 25 points, had two thunderous dunks (he's a generous 6'4") and plays for a school named Word Of God Academy.

So, yes, he would be that blatant.

T of C gone as quickly as it got here [News-Leader]

* The reporter, Allen Vaughn, writes into clarify: The incident happened on Thursday, the first night of the tourney, and not after the championship game, on Saturday. He also adds that even though Kansas had a game in Boulder on Saturday afternoon, Self returned to Springfield, Missouri, to watch Wall play that night. Memphis coach John Calipari was also in attendance, but did not appear to have any contact with players.

** Clarification No. 2: Per the NCAA: "A contact occurs any time a coach has any face-to-face
contact with you or your parents off the college's campus and says more than hello. A contact also occurs if a coach has any contact with you or your parents at your high school or any location where you are competing or practicing." That means, if Self accidentally runs into Wall at the grocery store, they may exchange pleasantries, but I would think tracking him down outside the locker room violates that edict, which is why Self apparently admitted as much.

For the last six months, Jamarkus McFarland, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle from Lufkin High School in Texas, let The New York Times follow him through the recruiting process and they learned several interesting things about the way Oklahoma and Texas—particularly Texas and its legion of shadowy boosters—approach their dealings with top recruits. You really need to read the whole thing, but some choice highlights might wet your whistle.

• McFarland's mother was initially sour on OU, because she was not impressed by her first visit to Norman. (Who is?) But d-line coach Jackie Shipp refused to give in, emailing her every day to try and win her over.

• Texas coach Mack Brown has a flat-screen TV in every room of his house, including the bathrooms.

• When Sooner coach Bob Stoops flew to Texas to meet McFarland at his home, he set the table, ate ribs and potato salad, then watched the Queen Latifah movie "Beauty Shop" with the recruit's grandmother. "Stoops occasionally chuckled."

• A former classmate of McFarland's mother called one day asking her to convince her son to attend Texas, because if he did so, a banker had promised the former classmate an interest-free loan.

• Mom did not like LSU because "hostesses" at a reception would sit on recruits laps.

• Oh, and football players at LSU get weekly maid service in their dorm room.

The best part of the story comes directly from a class paper that McFarland wrote about a party he attended in Dallas, which was thrown by Longhorn fans the night Texas beat Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl.

I will never forget the excitement amongst all participants,” McFarland wrote. “Alcohol was all you can drink, money was not an option. Girls were acting wild by taking off their tops, and pulling down their pants. Girls were also romancing each other. Some guys loved every minute of the freakiness some girls demonstrated. I have never attended a party of this magnitude ... The attitude of the people at the party was that everyone should drink or not come to the party. Drugs were prevalent with no price attached.

A sorority party that he attended in Norman, was much more low key. There was very little "romancing," leading McFarland to conclude:

Some people who attend the University of Oklahoma seem to represent different values than some people who attend the University of Texas.

Man, I hope he got an A.

McFarland chose the Sooners yesterday, apparently because of a much greater level of one-on-one attention and because it seems that he was more comfortable with the African-American Shipp as his position coach. It really is fascinating to watch the dance between coaches and players—and their families. It's like trying to convince your dream girl to go out with you, only in this case, being an insane, clingy stalker actually works.

And while I understand that the mother is simply trying to find the best place for her son, the sense of entitlement on her side is pretty remarkable as well. It's certainly a tough situation to be besieged on all sides by aggressive and (occasionally) unscrupulous people, and judging by the story of Jamarkus—who appears to be an amazingly level-headed kid—everyone becomes changed by the situation and almost no one comes out looking clean.

Oh, and I wonder if someone reading this article might decide they want to take a look at Texas' booster situation. Someone who isn't looking for free drugs, that is.

Inside the Red River Recruiting Rivalry [NY Times]

Related: The Ballad Of Willie Williams

Everyone already knew that highly-prized recruits were lavished with praise and attention, but no one quite understood the lengths (and dollars) that big time programs would go to, to land a blue-chipper like Williams. Private jets, steak and lobster dinners, personalized jerseys, nights on the town, cookies baked by the coach's wife—none of those things are allowed anymore ... thanks to the diaries that became an internet sensation.

But they also brought unwanted attention to Williams. Days after he finally committed to Miami, it was revealed that he was was arrested 11 times as a juvenile and was still on probation when he enrolled for school. His life since then has seen five colleges in three different divisions, more arrests, and the birth of a daughter, now three.

After struggling at Miami for two years, and getting kicked off the team at Louisville, he's now starting for Union College (Kentucky) of the NAIA and plans to graduate next year. He still has hopes of a shot at the NFL, which he may get. It's not his fault college coaches spent on more on gifts for him than they probably did on their own children, but his story is still a fascinating one. For example: how can one man eat all that lobster?

The original diaries are archived behind a paywall, but are helpfully preserved by a Florida Marlins message board. (Of course.) Some of the highlights from his trips:

Florida State: I ordered a steak and a lobster tail. The lobster tail was like $49.99. I couldn't believe something so little could cost so much. The steak didn't even have a price. The menu said something about market value. I was kind of embarrassed so I didn't order a lot. 'But then I saw what the other guys were ordering, I was like, `Forget this.' I called the waiter back and told him to bring me four lobster tails, two steaks and a Shrimp Scampi. It was good. I took two boxes back with me to the hotel.''

They had jerseys with our names on it. They even had my No. 17. I told them `Isn't that number retired for [Heisman winner] Charlie Ward? Coach [Bobby] Bowden was like, `For you Willie, we'll bring it back.''

Miami: Coach Larry Coker picked him up at his Carol City home in a white Cadillac Escalade, then put Williams up at the Mayfair House Hotel in Coconut Grove. Williams' room featured a jacuzzi on his balcony.

Following the campus visit, the recruits boarded a bus with the coaching staff and headed for the Orange Bowl ... ''We'd get to a red light and I would hold on because the bus driver would just take it,'' he said. 'I was thinking the bus driver was crazy. Coach Coker was like, `Willie, we've got police escorts.'"

Auburn: ''The girls at the party were much better than the farmer girls we'd see all day around campus,'' Williams said. ``I was kind of worried all Auburn had to offer was those farmer girls that talked funny. But the girls at the party weren't farmer girls at all. I thought they must have bused them in from Miami.''

Florida: ''I ate so many meatballs, the people there started looking like meatballs ... 'The first night I was OK with eating at the stadium. But when they told me we're going to eat there again, I was a little disappointed. I was like, `Take us to Red Lobster or something.' That's when I pretty much made up my mind. I can't live in a place that don't have any restaurants. What am I going to do — fly home to eat shrimp?''

• Willie Williams Recruting Diaries: FSU and Auburn + Miami [Marlins Baseball]
• Williams Career Following Unexpected Path [Rivals.com]
• He's Toasted, Then He's Toast [NYTimes, 2004]
• "The Worst of Recruiting" [Yale Herald, 2004]
• Diary Highlights [SEC Fanatics]
• Former Miami Hurricane Willie Williams' odyssey continues [Miami Herald]

Yet no one mentions how rapidly the cost of competing for top talent is rising. Until, that is, the Chronicle of Higher Education issued this report dated August 1. The key finding is that almost half of colleges doubled or tripled the amount of money they spent on recruiting in the last decade. In a world where athletes demand attention, top flight facilities, huge stadiums or arenas, and constant coddling from adults, it sometimes gets overlooked how few schools can compete for top players on a purely economic basis.

On the whole, the 65 biggest spenders shelled out a total of more than $61-million in 2007, an 86-percent increase from 10 years before. That amount does not include salaries for recruiting coordinators or construction and operating costs of the gleaming multimillion-dollar facilities that help lure prospects.

Tennessee, Notre Dame, Florida, Auburn and Kansas State rounded out the top five biggest spenders. The graphs that follow these articles are pretty interesting; breaking down recruiting costs for those schools with football teams, without football teams, and in Divisions II and III. Ultimately it leaves you wondering where the ceiling is on the amount that colleges can spend on recruiting. Legal recruiting, anyway.

Right now, the only thing rising faster than college tuition is the cost of getting kids to come play for your college's sports teams.

Have money, will travel: the quest for top athletes [Chronicle of Higher Education]

Two sport wunderkid Terrelle Pryor occupies a favored spot in the masturbatoria of college football and basketball recruiters the nation round. Add to that list amateur toy makes, as Mondesi's House points to a story about some guy who fashioned an few action figures of the high school athlete out of a McFarlane Vince Young figure. Not what it elicits more: groans or "they all look like" jokes.

A North Hills man came up with the idea to carve out a Pryor figurine. Kevin Main, who recently moved here from Cincinnati and heard about Pryor through some co-workers at Mellon Bank, makes the figures as a hobby.

He never had made a figure for a high school player, mainly concentrating on minor-league baseball players.

"I started hearing about this Terrelle Pryor kid, so I Googled him and read about all the hype surrounding his football career," said Main, 31, a sports enthusiast and autograph collector. "I thought it would be cool to make him. I looked at a few photos and decided I would make a couple figures."

Main simply took a McFarlane figure of Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, scraped and sanded off certain spots and repainted it in Jayhawks red, white and blue - with Pryor's unique features.

McFarlane said they won't sue the guy so long as he isn't selling them. And why would he? Those minor league figures have to be moving units. Not to mention the new line of GM dolls he has planned.

You gotta feel pretty bad for the kid; it looks like a nasty recruiter was doing the whole thing as a scam.

Hart claims, in a police report, that a Kevin Riley falsely represented himself as a recruiter — a middle man to big-time college football programs — and led the 6-foot-5, 290-pounder and his family to believe there were scholarship offers available when there were none.

Obtaining money with a false pretense is the charge on the report at this time, said Deputy Dan Lynch, who took the report. Finding Riley could be difficult, though.

The cops say they have "no info to identify a suspect." So the guy, really, is gone. This picture, we think, is the saddest part: He actually had a hat for California and a hat for Oregon, and made a big dramatic production of choosing which one he was going to put on. That really breaks our heart a little bit.

Recruiter Allegedly Involved In Hart Case [RGJ.com]
This Recruit Is Unreal [Washington Post]