By Chris Stevens
(Source: HBCU Sports)
Alabama A&M head football coach Connell Maynor had several thoughts during Monday’s SWAC Coaches’ press conference about the NCAA’s decision to discontinue the National Letter of Intent program.
According to Maynor, this would be a major issue for AAMU and other HBCU athletics programs.
“If they sign with us, it’s not binding. So, if they sign with us and then if one of the bigger schools’ kids goes somewhere else, then they’ll say, that kid we were looking at who signed with A&M, let’s go back and offer him again,” Maynor explained. “Then they offer him again, and he leaves us. The NCAA claims to be for the student-athletes, wanting them to graduate, but everything they’re doing is nothing conducive to graduating. You’re letting guys transfer every year. If a guy transfers four or five times, how is he going to graduate? He’s not going to graduate on time. They’re about making money.”
Maynor went on to say that the contract model that the NCAA is considering could be helpful in terms of recruiting, even if some negotiating will be required.
“I think a contract is kind of what you need like the NLI. You’ve gotta sign for one year, two years, three years,” he said. “If we say, ‘Hey, we want you to sign for two years,’ and a kid says, ‘I only want to sign for one,’ then I’m moving on because I don’t want a kid that’s only going to be here for one year.
That’s telling me already that you’re not about playing football. You’re about seeing how much money you can make. Now I can recruit the kind of kid I want, a kid who wants to be a part of something at A&M, instead of looking for a handout or what can you do for me.”
