NCAA rule hits Auburn's Tiger Prowl
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The en-masse spring recruiting trips by Auburn and other schools have come to an end.
The NCAA passed a rule Thursday allowing a university to send only two coaches to a high school on the same day during an evaluation period, when assistants are allowed one visit to assess a prospect's athletic ability and a second to evaluate academics. NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said Friday it is effective immediately and originated with the Big East Conference.
Groups of Auburn assistants have done the so-called "Tiger Prowl" to state and area high schools in limousines the past two springs. Auburn has also used a bus for fan events during the jaunts this spring, though not for campus visits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The NCAA didn't mention Auburn directly but notes multiple coaches often visit schools "in limousines and extravagant buses" and that the visits are as much to make a splash as to evaluate prospects.
"Many institutions are unnecessarily expending resources in order to have multiple assistant coaches attend these evaluations as a result of the perceived recruiting benefit," the NCAA said. "By permitting only two football coaches per institution to visit a prospective student-athlete's school on any given evaluation day, it would preclude institutions from sending a large number of assistant coaches to a school just for perception purposes."
The attention-getting technique apparently helped last season; the Tigers pulled in one of the nation's top recruiting classes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Thursday morning, before the ruling was issued, Auburn coach Gene Chizik made a point to separate "Tiger Prowl" from the recruiting visits, saying that refers to the fan events not the trips to high schools.