The ACC previously restricted its football coaches from working at satellite camps as a way to prevent in-conference competition in the summer months, along with not stepping on the toes of their regional rivals from the SEC. Everybody lived peacefully as a result down south, but that is about to change in a big way with the NCAA overturning a satellite camp ban, which was initially voted for by the ACC. Now, with the ACC spring meetings here, how the coaches respond to the satellite camp topic will be among the big takeaways.
Boston College is already getting in on the fun of satellite camps, although other ACC coaches have opted to stay out this year. The Athletic Directors around the ACC were not pleased with the NCAA overturning the satellite camp ban, but will they have a sudden change of heart? Eh, probably not.
“We finally got the practitioners on the council and it was overturned by the board that is comprised of mostly presidents,” Pittsburgh athletics director Scott Barnes said, according to The Orlando Sentinel. “That’s contrary to what we — NCAA Division I athletics — have been working so hard [on.] Our first crack and the board of directors rescinds it. That’s not good optic for what we’ve spent a lot of time on.”
Considering how some coaches are taking advantage of the option to work at satellite camps -- Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is working 26 of them in June -- it should probably be expected talk about refining the satellite camp rules should be on the table. A limit on how many camps a school or coach may attend is a likely discussion point. If the ACC and others cannot prevent coaches from working at satellite camps, limiting how many they can work may be a more realistic option.
