Prep Recruit Cites Possible Violation at Stanford Camp : Passer Says He Attended Free of Charge

A high school quarterback from North Carolina said this week that he attended a youth football camp at Stanford University last month free of charge. According to NCAA officials, that is a violation of rules.

Neil Williams, 17, a senior-to-be from Charlotte, N.C., who is being recruited by Stanford, said he was not required to pay the normal $300 fee for attending Stanford Coach Jack Elway’s camp June 23-28.

Although recruits not already in their senior years of high school are permitted to attend football camps, they may not be given preferential treatment, according to Tom Yeager, director of legislative services for the NCAA.

“All camps are recruiting tools, but if they offer any kind of financial inducements, then it is a violation,” Yeager said.

The Times discovered the alleged violation during a routine discussion with Williams, who was being interviewed as part of a planned story about trends in high school football.

In a follow-up telephone interview from his home in North Carolina, Williams said: “Stanford paid for the camp for me. I didn’t have to pay anything for the camp. That’s one of the reasons I know they are interested in me (as a potential recruit).”

During that interview, Williams was not aware that his situation at the Stanford camp was an NCAA violation. He acted surprised, saying: “But the camp is owned by Jack Elway. It’s his camp, not the school’s. So, financially, it’s not related.”

NCAA rules are, indeed, applicable to Elway’s camp.

Elway said he had no knowledge of any deal made with Williams.

“Whatever the kid said or did, there’s no way we’re going to go back there and tell him that he doesn’t have to pay,” he said. “I don’t think a football camp should have its reputation ruined by some kid who isn’t telling the truth.”

Mike Glazier, assistant director of enforcement for the NCAA, said that if an institution is found guilty in matters such as this, it can be penalized. “If it is intentional and used to gain a highly recruited prospect, then it could be serious,” Glazier said.

Williams’ parents said their son attended the camp without paying. Muriel Williams said her son was contacted by Tom Beckett, assistant athletic director for football operations at Stanford.

“He suggested it would be great if Neil could come to the camp,” she said. “The school wanted to see him.”

Williams’ parents have subsequently paid the camp fee.

Beckett, who has North Carolina as part of his recruiting territory for Stanford, denied that he had promised Williams free admission to the camp.

“I was astounded when I found out he didn’t pay,” Beckett said. “It was a mistake in accounting.”

Beckett said that a computer list used by camp registrars showed that Williams owed no money, even though he had not paid the fee. As a result, Beckett said, no money was required of Williams at registration.

Beckett said: “Sunday morning (the first day of the camp), I walked with Neil over to the registration and told him, ‘This is where you pay. That’s what you do--pay right here.’ ”

Williams’ father, Neil Sr., a lawyer and former city council member in Charlotte, said that his son could not have paid the registration fee, even had he been required to do so.

“Neil didn’t have enough money with him to pay,” he said. “It was his understanding when he got on the airplane that he was not going to have to pay, rightly or wrongly.”

Williams paid his own air fare to the camp.

According to Dick Knox, executive director of the North Carolina High School Athletic Assn., Williams might have lost his senior year of eligibility by attending the camp without paying. Knox said, however, that because Williams was unaware of the rule and that payment was subsequently made, there would probably be no penalty.

Before the camp, each participant was sent an application stating that a deposit of at least $50 was required. The deposit was supposed to be returned with the completed form. Williams said that he sent no money with his application but later received confirmation from the camp that he had been accepted.

Beckett’s version of the registration process differed.

“Neil never sent an application back,” he said. “He never sent it. We called a week before the camp, and he said he was coming. The reason he didn’t send a deposit was because he was going to pay when he got here.”

According to Williams, his camp tuition was waived because of his travel costs.

“They knew I had to pay for the air fare to get all the way out there,” he said. “They felt sorry for me.”

Williams has a 3.7 grade-point average, an obvious attraction for Stanford, which has stringent entrance requirements.

According to Bruce Hardin, Williams’ high school coach, the 6-2, 190-pound left-handed quarterback has solid potential. “He is a major college prospect,” Hardin said.

Beckett said that before the camp began, he telephoned Williams three times. During the camp, Dick James, Stanford recruiting coordinator, called Williams an outstanding prospect.

“We surveyed the East Coast and decided he was a top quarterback prospect,” James said.

Stanford, like many universities, uses its coach’s camp as a recruiting aid.

“In the past, the camp was on a much smaller scale,” James said. “It wasn’t meant to be anything but a local community-service type of experience.

“When Jack came here, he made changes. He wants to use the thing as a tool.

“We provide (the campers) with a week of exposure. They get a chance to be here with us, see our campus and get to know the coaching staff. It’s a double-edged sword. Sometimes it works, sometimes they don’t like us.”

The NCAA’s Yeager said that his organization is aware that many colleges sponsor football camps and use them to recruit high school players.

“It’s permissible,” he said. “It is a significant recruiting tool, but if they offer unequal treatment, then it violates the rule. It gives an unfair advantage.”

Besides Williams, three other prospects who attended the camp were questioned by The Times concerning camp fees. None said he had received free admission or financial inducement.

This year’s Stanford camp attracted 476 participants, ranging in age from 10 to 18, from around the country. The number of players at the camp has nearly doubled since Elway was appointed football coach before the 1984 season.

Campers used on-campus housing and facilities during the week. They received instruction from the Stanford football staff, as well as 35 “guest coaches” from high schools and junior colleges.

The featured guest coach was Jack Elway’s son, John, a Denver Broncos quarterback and former Stanford All-American.

Jack Elway said that the money taken in for the camp is used to cover expenses. He said that he and John received $4,000 each and that Stanford assistant coaches received $2,000 each. The high school and junior college coaches each got $200, plus travel and lodging expenses.