State Representative Andy Schor (D-Lansing) introduced House Resolution 268 calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to end its recent ban on satellite training camps. These camps — usually set up in another state from the host school — have been popular for years and help athletes increase their visibility to different schools as well as helping many smaller schools evaluate a larger number of potential recruits.

“The problem is not about a school coming into an area and taking away recruits from other programs, it’s about student-athletes that don’t have the funds to travel to different schools for recruiting visits having an opportunity to find that exposure,” Schor said. “With the skills and determination many of these high school athletes have, it’s a shame to limit their future possibilities like this.”

The satellite camps ban also hurts smaller or geographically isolated schools that either lack the resources to host larger camps or the ability to draw a large number of athletes due to the travel considerations.

“Eliminating a method to give young people a chance at a college education through scholarships is wrong, whether it’s a bigger program or a smaller school,” Schor said. “The NCAA, to my understanding, has always been about the student-athletes being given every opportunity to succeed. This ban goes against everything the NCAA claims to stand for.”