When a College Coach's Agent Recruits the Coach's Players: Potential Legal and NCAA Ramficiations
38 Pages Posted: 1 Apr 2019 Last revised: 11 Jun 2020
Date Written: March 7, 2019
Abstract
In a recent and seemingly natural trend, many agents who rep-resent college football coaches recruit and attempt to sign the coach’s student-athletes. While much has been written on the myriad conflicts of interest in the sports agent industry, this Article is the first to focus on the recruitment and signing of players coached by agents’ current clients. The Article argues that the practice constitutes a conflict of interest when the player is a draft-eligible underclassman with remaining eligibility. This Article argues that practice should not be permitted.
College coaches and their agents also must recognize the fact that a coach’s involvement in an agent’s player recruiting can result in NCAA violations. The recent FBI investigation into corruption in men’s college basketball, while unfortunate, provides a prime example. This Article explores possible NCAA rules implications that can result from a college coach’s involvement in his or her agent’s player recruiting. Finally, the Article suggests parameters that college coaches should put in place to mitigate the likelihood of NCAA rules violations when their agents seek to recruit their student-athletes.
Keywords: Conflict of interest, Fiduciary duty, Agent, Agency, Sports agents, NCAA, NCAA violation, NCAA legislation
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