NCAA says camps off limits for media

The NCAA has decided college sports camps aren’t the place for media.

A message from Greg Sankey of the SEC disclosed a recent interpretation handed down by the NCAA concerning the presence of media at college athletic camps for high school students. The text of the message was released by the University of Tennessee sports information office Thursday.

Although a rule banning media attendance at the camps colleges conduct for high school athletes has been on the books since 2007, a large loophole caused a sometimes loose interpretation.

“The rule said you can’t invite media to these camps,” explained UT associate athletics director Brad Bertani, “however, if camps were left open to the general public then it was OK (for media to attend).”

At UT, for example, the recent football camp conducted by coach Lane Kiffin’s staff was open, while the men’s basketball camp was essentially closed.

“An institution has an obligation to preclude the presence of media (including scouting services) at its institutional camps for the purpose of writing stories, filming and/or taking pictures,” the NCAA states. “... As a result, we advise you to notify media outlets they are not permitted to be present at institutional camps.”

John Painter of the UT sports information office said the ruling came after discussion with several athletic conferences, after widely varying interpretations at “more than 20 schools” across the country.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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