Thread by @kylamb8

Does the NCAA permit Michigan to use a "scouting service" to scout future opponents? Yes...but also no.

Michigan fans are clinging to a 2013 bylaw change as hope they will be spared the wrath of the NCAA. Michigan's own actions suggest they don't believe this.

A thread.

The rule banning in-person scouting of future in-season opponents came in 1994. In the wake of rising athletics revenues from media rights, the difference in budgets was stark. NCAA wanted to keep schools with smaller revenue from being at a disadvantage...

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To help accomplish this, the NCAA banned in-person scouting outright except for postseason tournaments of a few sports. This kept bigger schools from paying large expenses to send multiple scouts to various contests.

Below is the rule, bylaw 11.6.2, as of 2012...

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In 11.6.2 above, all in-person scouting is prohibited for basketball, football, and women's volleyball. In other sports, schools could not pay expenses for scouting. This meant you could subscribe to a subscription service, but not actually pay people to go scout.

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In 2013, the NCAA made a change that streamlined this rule. Given the widespread availability of digital video and subscription services, the NCAA adopted bylaw proposal RWG-11-3-B, which amended 11.6 clarifying all sports could use scouting video.

"Readily available" is key

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The NCAA knew most sporting events were now "readily available" to schools and did not see the harm in them utilizing such content. If accessible to all, it did not put anyone at a disadvantage. Here is how a much condensed 11.6 reads in 2023 with the 2013 revisions.
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So, if scouting services are now legal, Michigan must not have broken the rules, right? Wrong.

First off, let's not forget Connor Stalions has been spotted at games. That is a direct violation regardless of scouting services.

But if Michigan thought it was in the clear...

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Why did Stalions need to hire dudes recording with camera phones and reimburse them through Venmo? If the NCAA *actually* permitted in-person scouting through a third party, Michigan would have hired a legit recording service that obtained a credential through the school.

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The NCAA prefers scouting services to be professional and above board. Here is the laundry list of criteria in bylaw 13.14.3 to be considered a "recruiting or scouting service," especially as it relates to evaluating prospects:

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For these recruiting and scouting services in prospect evaluation, the NCAA specifically has an approval process to be an official service. The spirit of this rule is the same as in-person scouting as they want good faith actors, not shady characters skirting rules.

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Specifically, content must be "readily available" and expenses cannot be reimbursed. The intent behind the rule is for subscription content that is already available at a set price to everyone...not ad hoc camera video from the seats.

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Remember that the *intent* of bylaw 11.6 is to keep from paying people to attend games. Paying the travel expenses of anyone to scout is still not permissible in football. To do so in the name of a "scouting service" is a violation of the spirit and letter of the law.

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If Michigan thought it were above board, it would hire a professional scouting service, not pay people through Venmo to use their camera phones through third-party ticket vendors.

But real services wouldn't be stealing signs rather than actually filming games.

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If Michigan paid an actual, credible scouting service for video of sign-stealing, that service would be shunned by the entire coaching industry. It would violate their trust. Michigan went outside the law precisely because they weren't seeking a "scouting service."

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Teams, and scouting services, know that you are not allowed to record audio or videos of opponents' signals. That is expressly forbidden in 1.11 of the NCAA football rules book. You can't hire third parties to do what you can't, to record what you aren't allowed.

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Use of video services is certainly allowed. Think subscription services. The content would have to be produced by the service at its own discretion, made available to all at a set rate. The bylaws don't permit sending out scouts to record ad hoc.

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That's not what Michigan did here. They compensated people to attend games in person to film signs. This is in no way permissibly by NCAA bylaws. They know it, as does every coach in the NCAA.

/end

@bmoses30