NCAA proposal number 2013-26, released Jan. 21, will allow any form of electronic correspondence for any sport other than basketball, cross country, track and field, swimming and diving... and football beginning on Aug. 1. The key term there - "any form" - means the return of a once-popular form of recruiting: mass text messaging.
Scuttlebutt in recruiting circles says mass texting could return to football recruiting in 2015, which prompted an interesting discussion amongst our staff. Mass texts were a popular recruiting avenue before Twitter and Facebook popped up. Social media allows coaches to broadcast their message to recruits... as well as anyone else that follows them. On the other hand, a text to a specific group (say, all junior recruits in the state of Arizona) allows a more targeted message and, with the right text message client, allows each recruit to feel like he got a personalized text without necessarily knowing that same text was sent to a group of his peers.
You tell us, does social media make mass texting redundant
Yes, I would send recruits mass texts through my phone.
Yes, I would send recruits mass texts through an app our program subscribes to
No, social media makes mass texting redundant
No, I don't think mass texting is an effective form of recruiting