Thanks (or no thanks) to Wayne for the subject line pun above after I
mentioned this topic to him.
 
I'm becoming more and more aware of the effect that the net and web sites
can have.  This year, I have heard from a number of players and parents of
players who are either interested in playing at Merrimack or are actually
being recruited by Merrimack.  They are learning about the school and the
program through my (unofficial) Merrimack hockey web site.  I suspect
others have had this experience too.
 
This raises a couple of issues.  First, it means that not only does the
site serve as a means of disseminating information about the team to fans
and alumni, but it also can serve as a kind of recruiting tool.  A recent
request I received was to add the coach's address, phone number and fax
number to the site.  I had not conceived of the site as being a recruiting
tool, but I suppose unintentionally it can be, much in the way that
Merrimack uses its media guide as a recruiting tool to send to potential
student athletes (PSAs).  And the media guide cannot be updated throughout
the season, as a web site can.
 
The next question, and one I would like to ask of people who are more
familiar with recruiting regulations, is how might this method of providing
information fall under existing NCAA rules?  Is there anything we need to
watch out for?  Since I am indirectly providing information about the
school and program to anyone who accesses the site, am I considered to be
contacting PSAs, or is it considered to be more like a newspaper or
magazine?  Or does it fall somewhere in between?  And what about the
situation where PSAs or their parents send me email to ask me questions?  I
try to answer the general questions and refer them to the school for more
information.
 
And the big question...how might the NCAA need to get involved with
regulating this method of "recruiting", even if it is indirect?  Will we
see rules enacted in the near future to address this?  Will there be a
limitation on web site visits similar to that on campus visits? :-)
 
Basically, if the NCAA will be regulating my site, I'd like to know about
it. :-)
 
One parent who emailed me mentioned that he was constructing a web page
with information about his son that he hopes will be used to help schools
learn about him.  So the knife cuts both ways.  Not only can schools use
the web to inform PSAs about their programs, but PSAs can use it to try to
attract the attention of coaches who are looking for players.  It is not
unlike people who place their resumes on USENET or on the web in hopes of
attracting the interest of potential employers.  It won't get them the job,
but it may draw attention and help them get their foot in the door.
 
I suspect this area will only get more interesting as time goes by.  It
might be an interesting topic for those who cover the game for various
publications.
 
It is also nice to know that my site is being accessed by all kinds of
people who are interested in Merrimack hockey.  I've received notes from
fans, displaced alumni whose only way of following the team is through the
site, friends and families of current players, and as I said, PSAs and
their parents.  I try to pass this news along to people at Merrimack like
our SID, and the reaction has been quite positive.  It gives me incentive
to keep it going and to try to do a good job (in what little time I have to
maintain it :-)), especially since it is currently the only Merrimack
hockey site out there in the absence of an official school site.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
>> Co-owner of the College Hockey Lists at University of Maine System  <<
*****       Unofficial Merrimack Hockey home page located at:       *****
*****   http://www.tiac.net/users/machnik/MChockey/MChockey.html    *****
 
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