A compassionate Jim Delany?

The Big Ten is unhappy about the new liberalized recruiting rules the NCAA has promulgated, but not for the reason you, I or Urban Meyer might think.  Nah, the worry is for the children:

We have serious concerns whether these proposals, as currently written, are in the best interest of high school student-athletes, their families and their coaches…

We look forward to working with the NCAA toward improving the game, the recruiting process and the overall college football experience for all student-athletes.

Ain’t that the sweetest?

John Infante gets to the root of the matter here.

This is really the straw that broke the camel’s back regarding Big Ten claims of moral superiority. The Big Ten has no problem passing rules. It has a conference rule book that rivals the NCAA Division I Manual. But the Big Ten schools are saying they cannot or should not be required to develop either their own rules or their own reasonable model of recruiting. In effect, this statement asks the NCAA to protect the Big Ten schools from the bad influence that is the SEC.

No real surprise, that.  But I do wonder about something – if the big conferences ever decide to abandon the NCAA ship once and for all, exactly how would the Big Ten and SEC plan on adjudicating the inevitable spats between them that would arise?  Or would they really go all law of the jungle-y on us?  That might have enough entertainment value to make up for the depressing fallout from the next round of conference realignment.

Maybe there’s a place for Mark Emmert, warts and all, after all.  Shit.