Sports

Ole Miss Football Coach Can’t Showcase New Team To Top Recruits In Debut Igniting Debate On NCAA Rule

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Ole Miss football recruits College Football Playoff

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Pete Golding will soon his first game as head coach of the Ole Miss football program. He will not be allowed to showcase his new team to top recruits.

An NCAA rule bars schools from providing complimentary tickets to prospective athletes. The Rebels‘ success will not be rewarded on the recruiting trail.

Ole Miss finds itself in a unique situation this postseason. The team will host a college football game as the 6-seed in the playoff field. Despite national title contention, it will be without key leaders.

Lane Kiffin bailed on the program after the Egg Bowl to accept a job at LSU. He coached his final game in Oxford during the regular season.

Administration made the decision to cut ties as opposed to letting Kiffin continue coaching the postseason run. Pete Golding was quickly promoted from defensive coordinator.

He will make his head coaching debut when the Rebels host Tulane. He will not gain a recruiting advantage from the extra home game.

Ole Miss cannot invite football recruits.

Ole Miss can’t provide complimentary tickets to recruits. NCAA rule doesn’t allow it.

Why? It comes down to the College Football Playoff’s influence on ticket sales.

The College Football Playoff takes control of these games, dictating game day procedures in many ways. This includes things like sponsorship presentation, some on-field branding and more.

But the most relevant layer to the equation is ticket sharing. The College Football Playoff oversees ticket revenue as well.

-247 Sports

Host schools do not control ticketing. They cannot hand out free passes. Recruits must pay their own way if they’d like to attend in person.

Should they have to?

Let the debate begin.

Social media users just learning about the rule have been responding online. They believe Ole Miss should be rewarded for earning an extra playoff game.

“Hosting recruits for a home playoff game should be a reward and benefit but college football punishes schools for winning,” said Ben Garrett of On3 Sports.

“The NCAA is so useless,” echoed another fan.

Agree or disagree, Pete Golding will not be allowed to kickstart his recruiting efforts in the playoff debut. He’ll have to wait until next year to host recruits for a game in Oxford.