Urban Meyer, Big Ten Coaches Tangling Over Unwritten Recruiting Rules

Urban Meyer On Bret Bielema, USC's Probation And Jimmy Buffet

Urban Meyer Poaching Recruits From Little Sisters Of The Poor

Ohio State AD Gene Smith Supports Urban Meyer, Disappointed By Bret Bielema's Complaints

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith released a statement Friday regarding Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bret Bielema's public kerfuffle with Urban Meyer. Bielema accused the Buckeyes' new head coach of breaking the Big Ten's gentleman agreement forbidding the pursuit of committed prospects at other conference institutions. Meyer responded by calling the agreement "nonsense," and Smith backed his head coach.

"I am disappointed that negative references have been made about our football coaches and particularly head coach Urban Meyer regarding recruiting," Smith said. "In our league appropriate protocol, if you have concerns, is to share those concerns with your athletic director. Then your athletic director will make the determination on the appropriate communications from that point forward. The athletic directors in our league are professionals and communicate with each other extremely well. Urban Meyer and his staff have had a compliance conscience since they've arrived."

Of course compliance isn't really the issue here, since outside of the so-called "gentleman's" agreement, Bielema did not detail anything approaching an NCAA violation. Ohio State pulled a fast one on Wisconsin on National Signing Day this past Wednesday, flipping Ohio offensive lineman Kyle Dodson back to the Buckeyes. Dodson had previously decommitted from Ohio State during the tatoo-gate scandal.

For more on this recruiting spat, check out Wisconsin blog Bucky's 5th Quarter and OSU blog Along The Olentangy.

Barry Alvarez Sides With Urban Meyer, According To Report

Urban Meyer has had trouble making friends in the Big Ten conference ever since being named the new head coach of the Ohio St. Buckeyes, but things boiled over a bit earlier this week following National Signing Day. In particular, Wisconsin Badgers coach Bret Bielema wasn't happy with Meyer's way of recruiting.

It wasn't that Meyer was doing anything technically illegal in the way he recruited his players, but it seems the majority of his Big Ten brethren had an unwritten rule that said "once a player commits to one school, the rest of the schools are forbidden to continue recruiting said player."

Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin's athletic director, has went on record to say that he has no qualms about the way Meyer recruited. In an interview with ESPN's Joe Schad, Alvarez he has not had any discussions about any potential NCAA violations by other schools and that what Meyer did was okay by him.

UW AD Barry Alvarez: "Recruiting is recruiting until they sign. If we had somebody who changed their mind and came to us, that's OK."

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) February 3, 2012

Alvarez: "Urban was very aggressive but there is no pact within the conference not to continue to recruit. Open season until they sign."

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) February 3, 2012

It'll be interesting to see if there's any further fallout regarding Meyer's recruiting tactics as he continues to embed himself in the Big Ten culture.

For more on the parties involved, visit Ohio State blog Along the Olentangy, Wisconsin blog Bucky's 5th Quarter and Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire.

Urban Meyer Responds To Bret Bielema's Concerns, According To Report

Urban Meyer will probably just end up using Bret Bielema's comments as really good recruiting material anyway.

Urban Meyer, Bret Bielema And The Big Ten's New Recruiting Market

Bret Bielema doesn't like Urban Meyer's relentless recruiting style, preferring a system that's easier for Wisconsin, but not as good for recruits themselves.

Let The SEC Have Its Championships, The Big Ten Will Always Be First In Gentlemanly Club Life

Urban Meyer, Bret Bielema Have Different Views Of Recruiting