The NCAA’s Division I Management Council voted last week to eliminate the use of text messaging in recruiting. The association’s Division I Board of Directors will decide this week whether to ban the practice. If the board passes the legislation, coaches would be prohibited from sending text messages to recruits beginning this fall.

Text messages have become a popular recruiting tool in recent years, giving coaches an immediate, informal line of communication with high-school prospects and allowing them to get around NCAA restrictions on phone calls. While some high-school athletes don’t mind the attention, many complain that coaches abuse the technology, interrupting them in class or late at night. The most sought-after recruits often receive more than 100 text messages a day.

Ivy League officials proposed the ban last year, saying that text messaging was a burden to prospects as well as coaches, who spend countless hours contacting recruits to keep up with their rivals. The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the National Association of Basketball Coaches have both backed the proposal to eliminate the use of text messages.

It is unclear whether the Division I Board of Directors, which meets on Thursday in Indianapolis, will vote to ban text messages. But the board usually approves the management council’s proposals. —Brad Wolverton