Questions Arise About Saban's Contact With Sanders

Originally Published: Jan 7, 2011 9:48 AM CDT

More on Oklahoma Sports:
- Barry Sanders Jr.: Mark Ingram to Enter NFL Draft
- Alabama Coach Nick Saban Visits Heritage Hall (Full Interview)
- Barry Sanders Jr. Discusses College Future

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s highly publicized trip to Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City Wednesday is raising questions about possible NCAA recruiting violations.

While at Heritage Hall, Saban received a tour of the school and crossed paths with prized running back recruit Barry Sanders Jr. The two were photographed speaking to each other (photo above), and Sanders revealed in an interview with Oklahoma Sports that Saban told him about the future of Mark Ingram and asked about Sanders’ recent foot surgery.

Such an extended conversation between Saban and Sanders is a potential violation of NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.1, which states “Off-campus recruiting contacts shall not be made with an individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) before July 1 following the completion of his or her junior year in high school.”

NCAA Bylaw 13.02.4 defines contact as “any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student-athlete ? during which any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting. Any such face-to-face encounter that is prearranged or that takes place on the grounds of the prospective student-athlete’s institution ? shall be considered a contact.”

Per these bylaws, Saban’s conversation with Sanders – who is still a junior in high school – is potentially a violation of NCAA rules. And the compliance office at Oklahoma State – the alma mater of Sanders' Heisman Trophy-winning father – is taking notice.

“My job is to deal with compliance on our campus, but when another coach from another institution comes in and starts doing stuff like that in our backyard it certainly causes us some concern,” said Kevin Fite, the Associate Athletics Director of Compliance at OSU.

Fite said he cannot directly investigate Saban’s actions, but he can call the attention of Alabama's administration to the actions in question and inform the school of the possibility that a violation occurred.

“Institutions can contact other institutions, or that conference, and say ‘Hey, this is going on,’” Fite said. “Especially because things like that are out in the media, it quickly becomes known so it’s almost like we don’t have to. But at the same time, if you have a certain level of concern, I think it’s important to express it.”

The University of Oklahoma also is aware of Sanders' contact with Saban. Jason Leonard, the Executive Director of Athletics Compliance at OU, said the school does not want to get directly involved in the investigation into Saban. But he did share how the potential investigation will likely progress, which could include calls directly to the NCAA.

“In this particular case, someone would send it to the compliance department at Alabama,” Leonard said. “I’m sure there are multiple schools that probably have already done that. There’s some schools that might just call straight to the NCAA. Just call them up and say, ‘Hey, look at this article.’”

Calls to Alabama or the NCAA about Saban's contact with Sanders likely would be made by schools recruiting against the Crimson Tide for Sanders' services – which includes OSU – or schools in Alabama's conference, the SEC.

This is not the first time Saban has been mentioned in conjunction with a violation of this same rule. In 2007, the Miami Herald reported Saban had improper contact with three high school juniors in south Florida – Etienne Sabino, Brandon Washington and Marcus Fortson.

“The reason this [junior recruitment] rule exists in the first place is because of Saban,” a source with knowledge of NCAA recruitment practices said. “We all call it the Saban Rule.”

If Saban’s contact with Sanders is determined to be improper, it would be categorized as a secondary rules violation. The NCAA recently passed legislation saying coaches could be suspended for one or two games if found guilty of such violations. Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo already has been suspended for violating this rule.

Saban bristled at the new rule, telling the Tuscaloosa News in December that he was “not quite sure” how to feel about the legislation.

“I think it hurts the players when you start suspending coaches, so I’m not sure I’m in agreement,” Saban said. “But I’m not sure that I have a solution, because we do respect the rules and we do want everybody to abide by the rules. If this punishment is what’s going to change someone’s behavior, then I think it’s good. But if it’s not going to change anybody’s behavior, then I don’t really think it’s good.”