Geno Auriemma is a proud son of the City of Brotherly Love. Born in Montella, Italy, Auriemma emigrated with his family when he was just seven years old to Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb less than an hour outside the city. He stayed there through his youth, graduated from West Chester University and started his coaching career as an assistant at St. Joseph’s University. The guy has cheese wiz running through his veins.
So when the city’s Taney Dragons rose to superstar status last month during the Little League World Series, Auriemma took notice. What made the connection even more special was the fact that Mo’ne Davis, the team’s standout ace who also happened to be female, let it be known that she loves the UConn Huskies and dreams of playing for their women’s basketball (which Auriemma coaches) team someday.
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One thing lead to another and at some point during the Dragons’ run, Auriemma and Davis were able to connect over the phone for a brief 120-second conversation, during which Geno offered some words of encouragement to the young little leaguer. Well, that call ruffled some feathers, and it was reported yesterday that an anonymous team tattled on UConn and Auriemma to the American Athletic Conference and the NCAA, citing possible recruiting violations.
Like, for realz. Why does this have to be a story? And it gets even more ridiculous.
On Thursday, the NCAA said that after a brief investigation into the matter, they actually found Auriemma’s phone call to be in violation of NCAA rule 13.1.3.1, which states:
Telephone calls to an individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) may not be made before September 1 at the beginning of his or her junior year in high school (subject to the exceptions below). If an individual attends an educational institution that uses a nontraditional academic calendar (e.g., Southern Hemisphere), telephone calls to the individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) may not be made before the opening day of classes of his or her junior year in high school. Thereafter, an institution may make telephone calls to the prospective student-athlete at its discretion.
Originally, it was thought that because Davis was still in eighth grade, she was not considered a “recruitable athlete,” so no violation had been committed. The NCAA, in typical fashion, said, “Nuh uh,” and splashed cold water on Auriemma’s good deed.
The punishment, though, is not crippling to the program by any means. The school was cited with a “secondary violation,” the punishment for which amounts to nothing more than a brief meeting to re-educate Auriemma and UConn on the NCAA’s recruiting rules.
Speaking to the Hartford Courant, UConn Athletic Director Warde Manuel was clearly a littlt peeved by the NCAA’s decision: “I believe that upon request from a friend to Geno, a proud Philadelphian, to call a young lady representing the City of Brotherly Love who had accomplished historic feats in the Little League World Series, should not constitute a violation especially due to the fact that NCAA rules do not classify Mo’ne as a prospective student-athlete,” he said. “The nature of Coach Auriemma’s two-minute conversation with Mo’ne had nothing to do with recruiting and instead had everything to do with congratulating and encouraging Mo’ne to continued success. I consider this matter closed and we will have no further comment.”
What helped the NCAA makes its ridiculous case was the wording of the rule, and the use of the term “individual.” And, according to a UConn athletic department source for the Courant, college sport’s governing body considered Davis someone more significant that a typical “individual recruit” because of her elevated status … as a 13-year-old.
Give me a break.