Blurring the Lines on Package Deals

Check out this Seth Davis article at SportsIllustrated.com. Many casual college basketball fans might not be aware of the subtle power plays that go on behind the scenes of college hoops, where competition for the best players coming out of high school is as fierce a business as any in sports. Coaches are constantly getting in trouble for crossing the boundary of legality when it comes to aggressive recruiting (see Kelvin Sampson), but one way in which coaches and schools are landing top flight talent seems to be slipping under the radar. Apparently, many schools will hire influential summer league basketball coaches onto the payroll of the school in order to sway influence in the decision making of a prep athlete.

Here’s how it would work: Jimmy Chitwood is a high school basketball phenom who plays for his high school team, the Hickory Hoosiers. But during the summer, he trains and hones his skills while playing for a basketball development league team, the Koogerz. The coach of the Koogerz promises Powerhouse University of Everytown that he can get Jimmy Chitwood to sign with PU if, in exchange, he gets a job with the team, let’s say Player Development Assistant, a job which pays a good deal for basically doing nothing other than getting Chitwood to sign at PU. Does it happen a lot? Apparently it does, though because it’s so prevalent, nobody raises a stink about it.

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