The Conference Commissioners Association voted 31-0 at its fall meeting last month in Chicago to recommend eliminating July men's basketball recruiting beginning in 2012 to the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, sources with direct knowledge of the meeting told ESPN.com.
According to another source, the Division I board will meet Oct. 28 and has a number of options: accept the recommendation and implement it immediately or delay the implementation; introduce new legislation and send it through the normal governance structure; direct a study of options; or do not act on the recommendation.
According to the meeting's minutes, the recommendation said the new recruiting model would not include a summer recruiting period for July 2012, ESPN.com learned. All 31 Division I commissioners were in attendance and voted in favor of the proposal.
Coaches are allowed to evaluate recruits for two 10-day periods in July, traversing the country for events in Akron, Ohio; Cleveland; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; north of Dallas; Augusta, S.C.; Orlando, Fla.; Las Vegas; and Los Angeles, among many others. The NCAA's men's basketball focus group has been monitoring summer recruiting, looking for improvements as well as trying to eliminate violations during the period.
The CCA vote, which was not made public at the time of the meetings at Big Ten headquarters, sent shockwaves through the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
On Tuesday, an e-mail obtained by ESPN.com and marked: "URGENT Regarding Elimination of July Evaluation Period" was sent to all Division I coaches by Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, the current NABC president, NABC executive Jim Haney and deputy executive director Reggie Minton.
The e-mail was a plea to coaches to let people know the NABC is against the proposal. It asks coaches to campaign on their campuses to athletic directors, faculty representatives and presidents, and to educate them on their position on eliminating the July period.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said Wednesday during ACC media day in Charlotte, N.C., that eliminating July recruiting would drive up costs and cause coaches to miss time with their teams, as recruiting would occur only during the academic year. Coaches aren't allowed to go out in April, either, at this time. Hewitt said going to an event in Orlando, Fla., in July can allow him to see 40 prospects in one place as opposed to canvassing the country to do the same during the year.
"We heard about this by chance,'' Minton said. "I was in a casual conversation with a guy, and he brought it up. He brought it up, and it's the first we ever heard about it. We didn't know about it. I wonder how this is good for every conference. I understand the top guys. They'll get who they want to get. I experienced this myself.''
Minton, who coached at Air Force and Dartmouth, said the APR would be affected by this change. Taking away July recruiting would mean more transfers.
"When is the last time a college coach would see a player? In February, and then he's going to take him? He's going to have to call somebody and take someone else's word,'' Minton said. "There is no period where there is more supervision and eyes than in July. The basketball focus and enforcement group is out all summer. Are the folks that voted, how many are out there in the summer? I don't see them. I'm out there.''
Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.