Dr. Ralph Swearngin, GHSA executive director, said some of the most important and far-reaching legislation of his 10-year tenure was passed at last month's executive meeting.
Swearngin, while dealing with reclassification issues that haven't been settled, was addressing newly created and revised bylaws involving the recruitment and transfer of students for athletic purposes. The changes go into effect on July 1.
Under the new guidelines, players who follow a coach to another school (unless dependent children of the coach) will be declared ineligible and have the burden of responsibility to prove the legitimacy of the move.
Non-family members, churches, businesses and other organizations no longer can pay an athlete's tuition, except for programs specified in state law, and students can't be employed by a school to work off tuition. Also, more documentation for financial hardships will be required.
A school booster could be considered equal to high school personnel in accountability for recruiting contact. Interestingly, the definition of a booster has been expanded to include school alumni and the parent, guardian or relative of a current or former student, among others.
"I think it's a step in the right direction that fits our world today," Swearngin said. "Most of the eligibility rules were written back when people didn't move around as much and everybody lived in the same family.
"Times have changed, and now we're trying to bring our bylaws up to date and make people accountable for them."
Last August, Swearngin was granted permission to create a 12-person committee to focus on recruiting and undue influence issues. Principals and athletic directors from public and private, large and small, and those located in North and South Georgia, comprised the group.
Swearngin said the changes were driven by longtime concerns -- some considered justified by him, some not -- over recruiting allegations and large numbers of students transferring. It's unclear what sort impact closer scrutiny will have.
"Over the next year, I think we're going to see what will work and what won't work; I think it's a positive thing," he said. "Sometimes, when you want to really get after something, you kind of overreact. We're going to have to see after a year what kind of problems it may create for us and we may have to tweak a few things down the road. But we're going in the right direction."
Suggestions were more conservative in approach than originally planned, but proved popular at last month's meeting.
There were several minor adjustments to the existing bylaws and more likely are on the way. The committee was approved for another year to examine issues and possible resolutions.
School officials are trying to be fair, as shown by an added bylaw for the booster issue. A school will have the opportunity to "demonstrate it could not be reasonably expected to be responsible for the actions" of a particular booster.
"It's hard to prove that wrongdoing occurred and even harder to pinpoint who is at fault," Creekside athletic director Mekia Troy said. "Schools are not always involved in this influence, so it's good to see the GHSA allows them an opportunity to defend themselves."
Others remain cautious with the GHSA role in policing this area.
"In general, my feeling is the GHSA has been reluctantly pulled into this situation; I understand Dr. Swearngin does not want the GHSA to be turned into an investigative agency," Roswell athletic director John Coen said. "However, one of the primary purposes of the GHSA is to foster, promote and protect the competitive balance among member schools within each classification.
"At this time, I don't believe any fair-minded person can say there is a competitive balance in either basketball at the AAAAA level or in multiple sports at the A level."
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