Let's just give recruits their own networks

If I’m an enterprising marketing administrator at Florida, LSU or Nebraska, I’m on a conference call with my biggest corporate sponsors and a local television station and we’re putting together a network, package, whatever you want to call it, on the spot. Just in time for high school football season, and I’m targeting games involving my team’s recruiting priorities.

My only regret is I didn’t get this done in time for 7 on 7 summer camps.

If I’m an administrator at Kansas, Kentucky or North Carolina, I’m lining up deals to broadcast AAU Tournaments. I might even arrange for a recruit’s “family counselor” as an analyst on the broadcast.

Why wait for Texas, ESPN and the NCAA to sort out whether The Longhorn Network can televise high school football games in the Lone Star State?

ESPN and Texas announced their deal in January, and Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne was first out of the gate to protest this arrangement two weeks after the announcement. “I understand networks such as FSN and ESPN airing high school sports, but whether or not employees under contract with a university that may have additional contact would seem to be an issue,” he said then.

Byrne’s concern was on target then and it is now. Airing high school football games in Texas on TLN obviously is a recruiting advantage. The network is dedicated to one university, making the talent representative of Texas’ athletic interests, no matter who signs the paychecks. That’s makes any broadcast of a high school game _ with the Bevo banner flapping in the stands and all over the telecast graphics _ a violation under permissible recruiters rules.

Beyond that, there are rules prohibiting a recruit’s appearance on any broadcast arranged by a member of the school. Again, it’s ESPN behind the camera, but it’s Texas’ network.

That it’s taken posturing by Texas A&M _ and now Oklahoma’s been mentioned _ to the point that Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive had to address more Big 12 defection rumors at SEC media days on Wednesday is a failure by the NCAA to properly address the issue.

Or whether it will be at all. Six months have passed since TLN was announced, and 5 ½ months since the respected Byrne threw out the first warning sign, which he repeated in Kansas City during the Big 12 meetings in June, and no word from the NCAA except to say it's under review.

So, until I, the marketing director, hear otherwise I’m on the conference call with my favorite car dealership, local TV station and the athletic director of the top recruit’s high school and we’re launching our network.

We’ll even be flexible with the name. How does the Perry Ellis (KU hoop recruit) Network sound?

Yes, Texas wields money, power and influence, and combined with ESPN it may even intimidate the NCAA into inaction on this. The NCAA has been busy dealing with fires elsewhere, we all know. But this was an easy call that should have been made months ago before setting off more Big 12 alarms. My gripe is there, not with Texas and ESPN, which did what behemouths do by looking for all advantages.

I can’t wait to see games on the Dorial Green-Beckham (MU football recruit) Network.