Clemson sent a minor shockwave though the NCAA football landscape Wednesday evening when it announced that it had self-reported 13 minor NCAA violations. Of those, one in particular stands out as particularly over-the-top from the NCAA.
As noted by Yahoo Sports, one of Clemson’s NCAA violations focuses on the illegal use of confetti during a visit from a top prospect.
Here’s how that violation was documented:
Oct. 17, 2018: Confetti was utilized by institutional staff during a photo shoot that took place during a prospective student-athlete’s official visit.
Apparently the use of confetti qualifies as a personalized recruiting aid (the NCAA handbook specifically says that decorative items qualify as personalized recruiting aids), which is itself a violation.
Of the 13 violations, that’s the one that clearly stands out. It’s not the only recruiting violation documented by the Columbia State — there was also a recruit who was contacted via email before the allowable date, another recruit who was given special seating with his coaches during the intrasquad scrimmage, and the Clemson staff celebrating a future Tiger before he had signed with the school — but the confetti violation obviously stands out.
As all 13 of the violations qualify as being decidedly minor, it’s unlikely Clemson receives anything more than a gentle, metaphorical wrap on the wrist. It seems a safe bet they won’t use any confetti when celebrating the opportunity to avoid a bowl ban or other, more serious penalties.
