Hasta La Creative!

The New York Times has an interesting look at the use of text messaging in the college athletics recruiting environment.

Desperate to connect with the best players, college coaches have adopted text messaging with zeal, and some athletes have had enough. Beginning in August 2007, the N.C.A.A. banned Division I colleges from using text messaging to recruit athletes, citing complaints from students that the practice was driving up cellphone bills and intruding on personal time.

Now, in an unusual move, representatives from the N.C.A.A.’s Division I members are expected to revisit the issue Saturday at their annual convention after 34 of the 329 colleges asked for an override vote. To reverse the ban, at least five-eighths of the delegates in attendance would have to approve it.

The issue has turned into an unlikely battle of the generations. In one corner are college coaches and athletic directors making a passionate pitch for the right to use a 21st-century technology. “I’m sorry, it’s 2008,” said Christine Plonsky, the women’s athletic director at Texas. “Face up.”

In the other corner are college and high school students asking for a little more respect.